The Sacrifice
by Thoughtless4u
Summary: What if the persuasion of Charles isn't enough to save all of them? What if Erik's anger is too much? Find out what happens next...
1. Chapter 1

**My take on the beach scene… R&R!**

The Sacrifice

He felt his best friend, his only friend, colliding into him with all the strength he probably could've produced. His control over the flying missiles was momentarily lost and the people around them watched how the hateful objects either exploded in the air or lost their trajectory to fly uncontrollably.

With predictable ease, he managed to get on top of his friend, pinning him down on the hot sand.

"Don't do this, Erik." The voice of the telepath was pleading, an emotion he probably hadn't used much before since his ability made it unnecessary. Now his own head was covered with a strange looking helmet necessitating the man underneath him to use his pleading technique.

Erik glared straight into the blue eyes of Charles Xavier before telling him the remorseful truth.

"I really don't want to do this." The blue eyes he looked into so many times the last few weeks didn't radiate surprise when Erik's fist made contact with his cheek. A soft cry of agony escaped Charles' lips before another blow to his face paralyzed him temporarily and left his vision blurred. Erik turned around and stood up, sending the remaining projectiles straight towards the ships once again.

Again, he felt his body being jerked towards the sand by the younger man next to him. Without apologising this time, he hit Charles's face several times finding no resistance of the other man what so ever. He didn't recall the amount, but it was enough to leave the Professor lying down, a small stream of blood coming from a cut next to his eyebrow. While still towering above him, Erik kept the missiles in check before completely standing up. Only a handful projectiles had remained but with some effort, the Jew was sure he could eliminate all those people on those floating tanks in front of him.

_They're innocent people only following orders! _

He still heard Charles' words screaming into his ears. Deep inside he knew his friend was right, but his anger towards all those assumable innocent people following orders was too big to let the words reach his sane mind. He had been waiting for this moment for almost fifteen years now, he wasn't going to let this possibility slide to show the world how cruel it actually is. The only innocent people were the Jews, and now the mutants. They never had a chance to choose who to follow, whose orders to follow to save their own asses. They were bombed to enemies without one single logical reason why.

With the anger rising inside him, he stretched his right hand even more, the missiles fastening to their goal. Only when he heard her firing her gun, Erik turned around to see the female CIA agent pointing her gun at him. The first bullet he deflecting passed him on his left, the second on his right. He didn't know what he acknowledged first, the horrid look on Moira's face or the short but overwhelming cry behind him.

Erik turned his head back, the anger and his missiles completely forgotten. With three big strides, he slid down on the hot sand once more, this time voluntarily. While placing his left hand underneath his face, his right easily forced the deformed bullet out of the body in his hands.

"Charles.." He turned his best friend's body to face him, dropping the metal object. Erik saw Charles' eyes closed, his face struck in pain while he let out short breaths and hisses. Erik instantly knew it was bad. Really bad.

Although he tried to force it away, he felt the one emotion he had embraced and feared his whole life entering his body and mind with an amazing speed.

Anger. Anything that had ever happened to him he had processed with anger. The captioning of him and his parents, the death of his mother, the months of torture done by Shaw.. He had answered everything with anger. This time would be no different.

Erik looked up. His eyes, filled with hate and tears, found hers.

Moira.

"This is your fault." He focused on the metal necklaces, her police ID's, and tightened them around her neck. When he saw her struggling for air, he tightened the grip.

"Erik, no.." It was barely a whisper from the mouth of someone who's strength lay in talking. Without loosening his grip on Moira's neck, Erik slowly turned his head towards the sound, facing the once so bright blue eyes of his best friend. The sight of Charles lying in his arms, so vulnerable and in pain, only made his vengeful feelings worse.

"It's her fault, Charles. She shot you." Again, he tightened his grip, watching as the head of the CIA agent slowly turned blue while she kept struggling for air.

"It's.. not.. her fault.." His words came out like hiccups, the pain in his body making it hard to breath. Although Charles got Erik's attention, the human magnet never let go of his grip on the necklaces.

"It's.. yours." The words felt unreal to him, his mind unable to comprehend what his friend in his arms was saying to him.

"How can you say that? She shot you!" Charles tried to talk, but instead of words a painful cough came out of his mouth, followed by a scream. This sight only strengthened his anger and Erik forced the necklaces even more around the agent's neck. A smile crept upon his face when he saw her eyes roll, her attempts to breath lessen and her hands not so much fighting the strain around her neck anymore.

Unable to speak, unable to move and unable to use his power, Charles could only watch with tears in his eyes when he saw Moira slowly falling to the ground, letting out her last breath. He wanted to scream, he wanted to make Erik stop, but all he could do was cough and wince in pain. When she laid down on the doomed sand, her eyes still open without any sign of life in her, Charles stopped struggling. He watched her still body, tears now falling down, feeling his own life drowning out of him.

He didn't respond to his name nor to the chaos around him when the other mutants tried to come closer while Erik pushed them away so hard they ended up flying backwards in the air. Only when a hand covered his bloodied right cheek to force him to look upstairs, he broke away from the dead woman's sight to stare straight into the eyes of her murderer.

"Charles.. it's okay. You're safe now. You're going to be okay." Through his own tears and the moments of blackness surrounding him, he saw the eyes lingering above him filled with tears too. His body numbed and he could only force out one word.

"Why?" He saw the look on Eric's face turning into surprise, his hands still holding him tightly against his own body.

"Why, Charles? You're asking me why? She shot you. She wanted to save her own species while killing us. She tried to kill _you, _Charles. She'd always be a liability. Now she's gone and you'll be okay." Erik's eyes filled with fresh tears. "We're going to be great, you and I. We'll recruit new mutants, we'll help them control their powers. We'll let them fight against everyone who wants to harm them. It's what you've always wanted, Charles."

"Erik..." Another blinding flash of pain entered his body from his back, leaving him gasping for air.

"Shh… Don't talk. I'll get help." With all the energy he had left, with everything he had still left in his rapidly weakening body, Charles grabbed the yellow and black suit of his magnetic friend, forcing him to look at him, to listen to him.

"You… she tried to kill _you…_ She tried to… prevent you from killing… so many people. She wanted to... save the rest of us. Nothing will... be the same again." The words hit him like a brick wall, forcing the air out of him temporarily. Erik looked into the drained eyes of the Professor, looking for any hope he didn't mean what he had just said. But he couldn't find it and his world crumpled.

"Charles…" The grip on his suit tightened.

"An agent was killed and... they will not rest... before they'll find her killer... You forced this... upon us. Upon them. They're just... children Erik. They will... blame all of us. The mutants. You unleashed... their hatred upon... them." The words were mere whispers, slight vibrations of the air around them. But Erik heard them loud and clear, and felt the truth behind those words. He scanned the beach, looking over the dead body of the CIA agent towards the seven frightened people standing in front of him. Seven frightened innocent _children. _When he looked at them, he knew why Charles was right. Mankind would never stop hunting them until they were all taken or killed. While he had been so angry all along that the Germans never gave them Jews a fair chance to prove their hatred thoughts of them were wrong, he had just done the same thing to those mutants. Without giving them a choice to join any side, he had made them the enemies of the human world now.

He hopelessly looked down again and saw his best friend fainting fast. A desperate cry for help was all he could manage.

"Now what, Charles? What have I done..." He saw the man in his arms trying to talk again and was struck deep down to his core when he realized that _Charles would never give up on them. Whenever they had him on their side, nobody could ever master them._

The grip of the man's hand on his suit loosened his strength and Erik grabbed his arm, waiting till Charles would come up with the answer. Never had he expected...

"Leave me... here. Take them… to… the mansion. Teach them… They'll … find me and… leave you alone." Erik's face was struck with horror.

"NO! Never! I won't leave you here! I can fight them Charles… _WE_ can fight them."

"We can't, Erik. They're with… too many. They'll keep… coming." Erik knew Charles was right, but wasn't willing to accept it.

"No, Charles. I won't leave you… I don't know what to do with them without you… Nobody can teaches them what you can…" Charles managed to smile only so slightly.

"Stop under…estimating yourself… You can… do this…" With a last teary stare, he fortified his next and last words.

"Take them… to safety Erik. I… trust… you." Tears were now freely streaming down Erik's face as he knew what he had to do.

"I'll come find you. I'll save you. Stay alive for me, Charles. I can't live without you." Without getting any response, he slowly lowered the telepath to the ground, gently lying him down on the hot sand that was now partly coloured red underneath them. With one last glare, he quickly stood up and ran towards the other mutants without looking back. He gathered them around him and before any of them had time to react, he forced them to take the hands of the ones standing next to them.

He himself took Raven's hand in his right and Azazel's in his left.

Just before the military helicopters came into sight and any of them could figure out what was going on, all of them disappeared from the beach with a soft '_poof'._

The military only found a dead CIA agent and an unconscious bleeding man on the otherwise deserted beach.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think… I'll only make this a multichapter fic when enough people want me to : )<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews and story alerts! It was overwhelming :) It is because of your enthusiasm for this story that I decided to continue with it. **

**So here it is.. Enjoy! Don't stop reviewing since I can't do without your input :) **

The Unknown

Although the teleporting only lasted for mere seconds, it was enough for Erik to control his emotions once again. Emotions he never had felt so strong after the ordeal with Shaw… emotions he never thought he'd still have. But as fast as those raw feelings had appeared, as fast they were gone when their feet hit the gravel in front of the mansion.

Everybody let go of each other's hand in an instant and started yelling at him simultaneously. Although he couldn't figure out the exact words, Erik knew exactly what they were angry about and what they wanted to know..

He raised both his hands and let them hear his powerful voice.

"STOP!" Some of them continued to talk nonetheless but soon all the noise died. All heads turned towards him. Although they didn't look at him that way, he knew what those gazes felt like..

_They were looking towards their leader. _

He could barely comprehend the meaning of the word _leader_. Charles had always been there for him, for them with his arms wide open for anyone who asked for help. And now, without them knowing, all that was left of such a born leader was his almost worthless sidekick.. _Him. _

Erik quickly swallowed the huge lump that had formed in his throat, concentrating on calming down the group of people in front of him by taking one step at a time. They were awkwardly quiet.

"Good, okay. Now let's move to the living room and I'll explain everything." They did as they were told and soon they were all be found in the largest room of Charles' mansion. _Their mansion._

Erik, standing in the middle of it, was searching for the right words. He scoffed softly, knowing that Charles would've already eased their minds by now. But there was no Charles.. there was only him. And so he was determined to try.

He looked up and stared into each and everyone's eyes one by one. He mostly saw fear.. fear of him, of all that has yet to come.. but he saw also hatred.. Azazel's and Riptide's eyes were mostly filled with ignorance. Erik sighed deep and started.

"Okay… So I know what this looks like. It probably _is_ mostly what it looks like. But not everything is lost… not yet." Although he was expecting all of them to start yelling again, it was Raven who took the lead and spoke for them.

"Why, Erik? What happened?"

'I… she…" He sighed deep, unsuccessfully trying to block out everything that happened on the beach and focusing on this moment instead.

"You all blame me. That's… only fair. I lost control over there when I saw Shaw…" He quickly glanced towards Shaw's allies to see their reaction on hearing their leader's name but they just stood there, unmoved by his words.

"And yes, it was me who deflected the bullet… It's my fault Charles got hit." This was not how he was planning this conversation to go.

Surprisingly, Raven slowly made her way towards him and froze in front of him.

"We all saw what happened, Erik. When you stopped those missiles and turned them back towards those ships.." She paused there, terrified to admit her feelings. The older man looked up at her, afraid of what she might say.

"We felt the same. We felt the same as you did, Erik. Betrayed, cornered, worthless. So we don't blame you for what you did. Hell, I bet some of us admire you even more. That's not the point."

Erik couldn't help but let his mouth drop.

"We want to know _why._ Why did you leave Charles there? Why betray him, Erik? He's our friend… your friend!" He saw her emotions now getting the best of her and in a flash she was not the firm businesswoman anymore, she had turned back into a child. Erik quickly cupped her head firmly in his hands.

"I had no choice. He wanted me too."

"But…" He let go of her face, standing upright, anger rising up inside him again.

"Don't you see? Don't any of you see?" They were taking aback by his sudden change of mood.

"He sacrificed himself… For us! The submarine crashing on the beach, the missiles flying towards them, the dead CIA agent… Those humans would've never quit looking for those who killed a cop and were planning on killing hundreds more. They would've never quit looking for us. Soon, they would've discovered this mansion, find out about the great things we achieve here. We won't be safe anywhere anymore and would be on the run for the rest of our lives." He let the confession sink in by the students. By the looks of their surprised faces, none of them had considered this option just like he hadn't until Charles had shoved it right underneath his nose.

"Now what?" Raven silently started to cry and Hank went to comfort her. Erik looked around in the room and saw everyone finding comfort in each other, their fear worse than before. But Erik also saw their friendship, their _bond _keeping them sane. He knew for sure it wasn't too late.

"Now we train. We train hard, strengthen our powers. We won't rest until we are stronger than ever before. The strongest we will ever be."

Erik's face lit up and was full of rightful anger, determination and hope.

"And then… Then we'll take back what is rightfully ours."

_Charles._

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><p><em>One week later…<em>

"Why isn't this guy awake yet?"

The head of the CIA walked into the small plastic room without windows or furniture. In the middle of it, a small plastic bed was confined to the stone floor underneath it, multiple IV's attached to the sides. The sight of the man lying on it, bare chested, unconscious and strapped to the bed with several bounds, gave a sting in the heart of the head of the CIA. It was impossible for him to believe that this young man, looking so innocent and vulnerable, could've been the cause of all the evens at that unfaithful beach.

He quickly compromised himself and looked sternly towards the doctor in the room.

"I asked you a question." The guards next to him eyed the doctor suspiciously, ready to force an answer out of him.

"Yes sir, well, you see sir, it's best not to have him awake at the moment, sir", the doctor stuttered.

"What a nonsense. What harm can he do.." The doctor let out a nervous giggle which was cut halfway when he saw the big bodyguards approaching him.

"Very much harm, sir. His power… uh, his ability can't be bound…" The head of the CIA smiled.

"I'm aware you can't cage his mind like you can cage his body. But I'm sure he won't do any such thing…" The doctor got more nervous by the second.

"But… he's very powerful sir, it was when he was brought here and woke up ever so slightly that he…" The boss was beginning to lose his patience.

"Look… when you wake him up, all of you'll leave the room. I don't know how to undo him of his bounds since I don't have any keys, I don't know where the IV's are for, there's no exit out of this room other than the door that can only be locked and opened from the outside and my guards brought me here blindfolded so I've no idea how to leave this building. There's nothing he can do. And besides… you'll only wake him up enough for me to see he's actually alive in there and we're not waiting for nothing."

Although the plan seemed well thought of, the doctor was still not convinced.

"But sir! He'll be in a lot of pain since he was hit in the back. I don't know if he can handle…" But the doctor was cut short by one of guards who pushed him forward towards the bed.

"Don't make me ask it again, _doctor._ Wake him up and leave." The doctor finally sighed and nodded in defeat. He stopped one of the IV's from dripping into the arm it was attached to and looked up towards the man on the other side of the bed.

"He'll wake up in a couple of minutes. Whenever you think it's enough, just push this lock on the IV. It'll start the fluid again and he'll be in a coma in no time." The head of the CIA gave a nod of understanding before the doctor was taking away from the room by the two guards. When he was alone, the experienced man stood up straight next to the head of the mutant, prepared for what to come.

The first movement came after two minutes. His eyebrows started to move up and down, his hands balding into fists. The CIA agent watched with curiosity how the young man on the table tried to wake up. An overwhelming scream made him abruptly jump away from the table. Within seconds he was back though, taking the man's chin in his hand, forcing him to look up at him.

His eyes remained shut, his face full of pain while less intense screams left his mouth.

"Hey, mutant… wake up!" Although it seemed like the man he held in his hand didn't acknowledge him, the CIA agent felt a weird tingle in his head.

"Don't you dare! Stay out of my head, criminal! There's nothing to find but hatred towards you." The tingle disappeared.

"Now be a man and open your goddamn eyes." Suddenly, the cop was facing two big bright blue eyes surrounded my red sclera. They blinked hard a couple of times until they were fully open. Moans still filled the room.

"It… hurts…" The pain was unbearable, ripping through every piece of his body like a thousand knives had struck him while he was already on fire. Instead of focussing on the pain he tried to do so on the voice he heard but the pain left him no choice but to scream out in pain again.

"Stop screaming! Look at me!" With all force, he did and stared straight into two hard unyielding brown eyes.

"Okay, stay with me okay? Nod if you understand me." Although his face was firmly held in place, he nodded as best as he could. Apparently, the man holding him had noticed it because he started speaking again.

"My name is Chris Elison, and I'm the head of the CIA over here. You've been taken into custody for 1st degree murder and attempted murder." Elison carefully studied the man's face when it turned into horror, apparently not completely comprehending what he had just said. The doubts of this man's guilt grew in the put of his stomach, but he put them aside.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" The man didn't nod, only stared at him in shock.

"Do you understand?" To emphasize his question, the agent squeezed his hand tighter around the chin of the man, his fingernails digging into his flesh. The young man finally moved his head up and down before he let out another scream.

Chris Elison tried his luck one last time.

"Do you remember what happened? Who did you work with?" He dug his fingernails even more in the already bleeding flesh of the younger man's cheeks, forcing an answer out of him. No response came. The CIA Agent found himself screaming towards the other man.

"Who helped you at that beach?" Still no response, his fingers now hurting from the force he was pressing them into the torn skin.

"Who killed CIA agent Moira McTaggert? Who killed her? Tell me!"

Finally, the blue eyes looked up at him, pain radiating through them. It was barely a whisper when he spoke.

"I… did."

Darkness overcame him again when the fluid entered his body.

**So, what did you think? Will he be paralyzed or not? Will the X-men find him in time? Let me know :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**First of all: WOW… Fantastic. Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews and your many story alerts. You make me really happy :) **

**Second: I'm afraid I have to admit something. I'm not from England, America or Australia, so my mother tongue isn't English. I'm aware that I do make some (minor) grammar mistakes and I sincerely apologize for that. I've been searching for a beta-reader since the beginning of this story but have yet failed to find one.**

**If any of my readers know someone who is willing to beta-read for me (preferably someone who can do so in a short time since I don't want you guys waiting for an update any longer than necessary!), please PM me. Much appreciated!**

**Now… Enjoy! The story continues…**

The Sign

The days passed by silently and unnoticed. Not much of them were in the mood to talk. Instead they concentrated on improving their abilities, trying to control them. Whenever they talked, it was quietly, almost afraid anyone would hear it. Afraid _he _would hear it.

He couldn't help but feel their constant fear and anger, mostly against the cruelty of the world in general, sometimes just at him. He pretended not to see the looks, the glares they gave him when they coincidently passed him by in the hallway. He did see those looks however and it hurt him more than he thought it would. _Everything_ that had happened after that day at the beach had hurt him more than he thought it would. He was somehow unable to remain the steal and sealed man he was before that horrific moment… and before meeting _him. _Erik was finally admitting that Charles had more influence on him than anyone after Shaw.

Erik kept glaring out of the window, sitting in the soft fauteuil in Charles' room, unmoved for the last couple of hours. Although he forced himself out of that chair every once in a while, he felt himself pulled back to it as soon as he had left the room. He tried to help the students, help them in their quest to improve their powers, but it didn't have the right effect. He simply didn't know how to. How to sooth them, how to stand by them when something didn't go as expected… how to push them to continue when they were about to give up. Most of the time whenever he said something, he only got angry glares or the opposite effect happened of what he wanted to accomplish. And so he walked around a bit, stood in the corner of the training room or in the garden where the students were training. Never long though, since he always missed the softness and warmth of that one fauteuil.

Charles' favourite.

This moment was no different. Again, he was a still form, sitting and watching, not thinking about anything in particular and everything at the same time. His mind was one big chaos of thoughts. Although he held one part of Charles' deal, namely bringing the students to safety, he failed miserably at the other one… Teaching them. Supporting them. All he could think about was how badly needed the Professor was. His next trail of thoughts was about the places Charles could be, the way he was going to save him, how he'd find Charles… _If _they'd actually find him.

Erik sighed out loud for nobody to hear. Charles could be anywhere by now. He could just as well be dead. No one had felt him entering their minds, leaving well picked and soft words to calm them down and tell them what to do. He hadn't felt him either and he knew the telepath could reach for more miles when he was looking for him. _It's because of our bond, our strong friendship that my ability works better when I'm with you. You make me stronger, Erik. _ The magnetic man laughed softly, partly out of self-pity, partly out of anger. He hadn't made his friend stronger.. he had made him weaker… he had given up on him.

The slender guy let his head rest in his hands. His thoughts made him crazy and paralyzed to do anything productive. With a sudden move he jerked up when he heard the door open, the clock on the nightstand now floating in the air ready to attack whomever had dared to come in.

"Take it easy, Erik, it's just me."

When Raven noticed the flying clock and the horrible look on her friend's face, she quickly raised her hands up in defeat. The clock dropped onto the bed.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting you. I wasn't expecting anyone." He let out a sigh and placed his head in his hands again.

"You seriously look like crap."

"Well, thanks for that."

"When was the last time you've eaten?" Erik studied the questioned look on Raven's face and snorted.

"Uh… let me think. I think that was… I've no idea. What does it matter?" Raven made her way up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder while resting on the bedside.

"It matters because you look like shit and we need you not to look like shit." Eric let out another short laugh.

"You need me not to look like shit? Sure…"

"It means…we need you to focus. We need _you."_ Eric was taking aback by her words that completely came out of the blue.

"You _need_ me?" Raven let out a sigh.

"Yes, Erik, we do. It may come as a surprise for you, but we need you. They're all trying so hard… so hard to help save Charles, but also to impress you. They've been working off their asses for a week. They're worried you won't let them come and help you when you'll find a way to save Charles."

Erik was unable to speak.

"And it certainly doesn't help when you're walking around like a freaking zombie."

When there was still no movement from the man in front of her, Raven slowly let herself slid down, now crouching in front of him. She rested her hands on his knees. She saw him looking at her with an expression of something between relief and fear. Although she wasn't completely sure, she thought she saw a glistering in his eyes.

"Are you… do you mean it?" Raven smiled.

"Yes. I mean it."

"But how… How am I supposed to teach them? I don't know how…"

"Yes, you do. You can teach them to be better, in your own way. You don't need to be like….", Raven swallowed, "…_him." _Erik saw the hurt and worry in her eyes, even when she was trying to be so brave and mature. Once again he saw Charles' influence_ o_n her.

"So get yourself in check and be the one we need so badly. Lead us, Erik." They shared another strong glance before he dropped his head again and nodded.

"Okay. I will." She kept staring.

"I _promise_." Raven rose up and made her way to the door. When she held the doorknob in her hands, she heard him speak up again.

"Mystique." She turned to face him, touched by the name he addressed her with.

"I'll find him. We'll find him, _alive._ Keep that in mind." She was relieved when she saw the determination and anger returning in his eyes.

"I know you…" All of sudden, Eric let out a horrible scream, clutching his head while kneeling down on the floor. She hurried towards him, tried to touch him but backed away when another scream followed.

"ERIC! What's wrong?" No response came while she saw him kneeling down even more, his face now touching the ground while he held onto his head for dear life. The sweat was dripping along his temples while he tried to hold down more cries.

"Eric! Talk to me!" In agony she watched him struggle against the pain, momentarily thinking he wasn't coming out of it anymore. He growled and crawled, his face now completely buried in the thick carpet of the room while his body was rigid like stone. She was nailed to the floor too, since she wanted to get help but also didn't want to leave him like this.

After what seemed like an eternity, his body finally relaxed a bit. Nonetheless, he stayed hurdled down on the floor, for another eternity. She eventually dared to touch him and was surprised to find his body slightly shaking.

"Eric… Eric, please! Talk to me, are you alright?"

His head finally arose from the floor. She watched in horror to his reddened face when a tear escaped from his eye together with a smile appearing. She grabbed his shoulders, squeezing him hard.

His words froze her in place.

"He's alive."

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><p><strong>So what do you think happened to Erik? And what do you want to happen next? <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Dear all… Thank you so much for the 46 reviews till now and the double amount of story alerts :)**

**This chapter is beta-ed, so hopefully the joy of reading will only increase! **

**So many thanks to my betareader, dont-call-me-koschei.**

**And now… sit back and have fun :) **

The Numbness

The doctor eyed the man lying on the table suspiciously. After the CIA agent had woken him up and talked to him, already days ago, Charles had been restless. His brows were now furrowed, his eyes constantly twitching underneath their lids whilst his face held a pained expression. Although he was in a medically induced coma, the doctor couldn't help but feel anxious about the possibility of the guy waking up.

He gently let his fingers slide along the man's face, taking a good look at the wounds on his chin and cheeks. The wounds were deep, running linear across the mutant's cheekbones, giving his soft face a cruel impression. The doctor bent down and smeared ointment on one of the wounds that had become red and infected.

Although the man in front of him was being accused of murdering a woman and the attempted murder of many more people, the doctor couldn't help but deny the fact that this man could've done such a thing.

The medic scanned the man, only dressed in a pair of pyjama pants, and knew. This was no criminal. No, it was just a young man, small build, fluffy hair… a Professor, even though he was so young. He was losing weight because of the solely parental feeding he was on, some ribs already appearing through his skin, and his eyes were shadowed by purple rims.

There was no way in the world this man could murder someone.

The doctor sighed. He had overheard the guards talking about the things they were planning to do with their captive and could only shiver. In a short time, they would wake him up entirely, keeping him conscious, and in pain, whilst experimenting on him. _The human laws don't apply to mutants. _That's what they said. They were planning on giving him drugs to block out his power. Block out his ability to read and control minds. For days now, researchers have been searching for a medicine that would be able to do that. And they were giving clear instructions…

_As long as he doesn't die from it, don't look at any consequences._

In other words, those researchers were allowed to cause him pain, fry his brain or do to him whatever was necessary to shut down that one thing that frightens them all. _Reading minds. _

They all forgot the man hadn't chosen to be like this. He didn't have a _choice._

The aged doctor walked around the small room and grabbed his instruments. He rolled up the Charles' pants to his knees and carefully touched his lower legs. Although no reaction was to be expected from the unconscious man, the doctor still felt disappointed when nothing happened. He moved on to test motor control, a test that had come up with nothing since they had brought him here. With his hammer, he began his examination, searching for any reflexes. The knees didn't respond to the gentle but firm hits of the hammer. Neither did the Achilles tendon. Still, the doctor continued, testing the toes one by one.

When he was about to hit the big toe on the man's left foot, he thought he hadn't seen it. He thought it was unreal, an interpretation of his mind of something he wanted to see so badly.

He carefully hit the big toe again, afraid of the result. Then, he hit it again and again and again.

It wasn't his imagination. It wasn't a dream.

That toe actually moved.

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><p>A sign he had been waiting for since he had left him there. He had been waiting every minute of the day, hoping for some kind of knowledge that he hadn't died.<p>

The sign had filled him with new hope, new determination to set right what he had done wrong… but at the same time his fear had become worse because of it.

Raven and Hank had put him in bed after the ordeal. He had been too weak to stand up, let alone walk. They left him after trying to get him to talk, to tell him how he felt. But he hadn't responded, still too shocked by what had happened.

He was now shivering, the sheen of sweat covering his forehead. With his eyes wide open, he only vaguely registered the ornamental ceiling above him, lost in his thoughts.

Although he knew it had been Charles inside his head, the telepath hadn't actually entered his mind. He had let Erik enter _his _mind. Never in their short friendship had Charles told him he was capable of such a thing and Erik strongly doubted the Professor knew himself. However, the question if he had known or hadn't didn't bother him now.

It was the things he had seen. He had _felt_.

Pure torture had crept inside his head and lit his mind and body on fire while thousands of knives entered his body at once. He couldn't see anything but he could sense that his body wasn't working as it should - like it was bound together somehow. The pain continued and grew and Erik had found himself unable to move or talk.

Just when he thought he was about to give in, one sharp image popped up in his mind. A man, middle-aged, slightly grey hair, with hateful dark eyes was staring straight at him. He hadn't seen the man before but he could sense that he wasn't an ally. The picture left his mind as soon as it had entered and the pain finally eased and left his head.

So that must have been how Charles had felt. In pure and blinding pain, looking up to a man that was definitely out there to hurt him.

While lying there in Charles' bed, comfortable and warm, he could only come up with one reason why the Professor had let him into his mind. The pain he had felt was probably too much to bear and his mind could only think of one way to deal with it: to share it. Share the _pain. _Charles' mind had wandered off to a safe place, a place where it would be protected and caressed.

His mind.

At this realization, Erik forced himself out of bed, feeling his own strength return with a rush of adrenaline. He stumbled through the mansion, gathering up everyone on his way.

Déjà vu crept over him when all of them were seated in the living room, looking up at him frantically, just like they had done right after he had brought them here. Raven shot him a worried look.

"What's going on?" Hank, now a gigantic blue beast, glared angrily at him.

"I saw him." A rush of surprise passed through the room. Eric explained what happened without bothering to tell the pain he had felt himself. In between, nobody uttered a word, listening in shock to the metal-bender.

"That's all I saw."

"Did you recognize the man? Saw anything else beside that?" Eric only shook his hand. Hank let out a whistle.

"Wow... I never knew the Professor could do that."

"Apparently, there's a lot we don't know about him. Like the fact that he's still fighting. Fighting for his life, waiting for us to save him. I'm sure he won't stop fighting until we do."

"But…", Raven started quietly. She didn't want to say what she was about to.

"Charles asked you to leave him there. He'd never wanted us to risk our lives for him. He intended on saving _us_ by letting himself get arrested. And now you're planning on doing the exact opposite!" Tears were forming in her eyes, something she had become familiar with since her brother went missing.

"I'm not planning on leaving him there! They'll torture him, probably use him as a lab rat, or they'll put him in prison for life. We need to save him!" Sean almost screamed out loud. A heated discussion started amongst the students, all having their own opinion on what to do with the situation. This time, Erik's voice didn't have any effect and the people in the room kept shouting at each other.

With a bang, the large painting came flying off the wall at full speed passing within an inch of Angel's head before shattering into pieces on the opposite wall. The room was quiet in an instant. Erik sat down slowly.

"Now, shut up and take a seat, all of you." They did as they were told.

"I wasn't planning on risking our lives and I wasn't planning on leaving him either." Some of the adolescents wanted to start talking again but stopped midway as Erik held out his hand.

"Shut up, I told you." Again, the room became quiet.

"We all want the same thing. Save Charles. And we will. But we're going to do this my way or no way. You understand?" They nodded silently.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. First of all, I need you to trust me. Otherwise, this'll end even worse than it is now." Erik stared at them one by one and waiting long enough for them to promise. He stopped when Angel came into view.

She slowly stood up and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want what you want. I joined Shaw because of his view of the world. I don't agree with yours. I won't help you." With those words, she left the living room and headed towards the front door. Erik looked around the room.

"Anyone who wants to join her?" Erik turned, not surprised, to see both Azazel and Riptide standing up too, only nodding their goodbyes. Soon, the room was filled with only five of them.

"I'm with you, all the way." Raven held a grim face when she said so, and Alex, Sean as well as Hank joined her statement.

"Good. Let's do this one step at a time. First, we need to know where Charles is being kept. Second, we need to be able to stand our own."

"If you can describe the man in your head, I could maybe make a profile picture and search in databases, to see if we can come up with a match." Erik smiled at Hank.

"Great thinking, Hank. That image in my head is the only thing we can use as a lead now. In the meantime, Raven, you need to start taking some fighting lessons. I'll teach you myself." Surprised as she was, the only girl in the room smiled at him and nodded in agreement.

"Sean, try to steady your flying more, so you can possibly hold still in the air for a while. We'll need that skill soon. And Alex… improve your aiming, try to shoot out smaller blasts of energy. Help each other." Both adolescents nodded. Hank stood up.

"Let's not waste time then. Let's go find Charles."

"Let's go find Charles."

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><p><strong>And, did this chapter keep you on the edge of your seats? :)<strong>

**You think Charles will get his legs back? Will the others find him before they'll try to take Charles' powers away? Let me know what you think and what you'd like to see happening! Don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Dear all..**** Again, thanks for the reviews and many alerts :) Please, please keep it up. The way this story is going is partly in your hands so I'm desperate to know what you all think and what you would like to see… Don't shy away to review, each and every one of them will be taking into consideration :) You'll be making me very happy by doing so.**

**Many thanks to my lovely betareader dont-call-me-koschei! And now…**

**Enjoy!**

The Bystander

As the days progressed, the doctor's excitement grew stronger. He didn't know how many times he had hit Charles' toe that first time, probably twenty or more, but it had been enough for him to be sure. And it had felt unreal to him.

There were still nerves intact in a body that was almost ripped in half by a bullet.

In the next couple of days, the doctor, whose name was Leon, had tested the mutant's body even more thoroughly than he had done before. Everything he did, he did twice and with the utmost concentration. And although the big toe on his left foot was all that continued to respond to his examination, the medic didn't give up. By considering the amount of damage done to his spine, it was already a miracle any part of Charles' body below the waist was moving at all.

Although it was strongly against the orders he had been given, little by little Leon had turned down the IV that kept the young man in a coma, making his exams more reliable and giving Charles more of a chance to respond. Nothing happened, however, but the neurologist remained hopeful.

All of this excitement and hope was the reason that Leon was now whistling softly when he walked over the small courtyard towards the cellblock the mutant was lying in. At first sight, the doctor had been amazed about the existence of the courtyard and the rest of the interior of the well hidden bunker. From the outside, the bunker had a blank concrete façade, appearing dark and abandoned to any passers-by. Not that anyone did actually pass by since it was located in the middle of nowhere, guarded by dozens of agents. No one could even come as close as five miles near the bunker without being spotted and silently taken care of.

The inside of the building was the complete opposite of the outside. The courtyard served as a parking lot, while high-tech machines and other equipment lined the hallways and staircases. Members of the CIA and Secret Service rushed past each other, disappearing into one of the many mysterious dark rooms or behind thick steel doors. Although Leon was only given access to the cell where Charles Xavier was being kept as well as the medical supply room and a small office, the doctor had heard numerous rumours about more people being held in the bunker against their will. The fact that no one knew exactly only strengthened the thoughts. Things were done to these people that couldn't see the light of day. But everyone had their own worries to hide and their own work to do, so the rumours became nothing more than gossip during passages in the hallway.

Leon held his ID next to the scanner and the door towards cellblock 'X' opened smoothly. He continued through the small and long hallway that appeared to be awkwardly quiet. The doctor's whistling carefully lowered volume with every step he took, not being used to complete silence during this time of the day. Trying to ignore his feelings of discomfort, he arrived at the last corner.

When the mutant's cell came into view, the doctor abruptly froze in place as he took in the sight before him. Two massive bodyguards were standing outside the door, both of them looking at him with suspicion. Leon's eyes grew wide and he found himself running towards the door.

"NO! You can't do this!"

Although it was to be expected, it hurt badly when the doctor collided into one of the bodyguards blocking the door. Apparently without any effort, he held Leon in place while he spoke monotonously.

"You're not allowed to enter, Dr. Herzlicher. Please be so kind to go to your office until you're needed." The doctor became furious.

"I have to be there! You don't know what's going on in there, they'll do him more harm than he can manage. Just let me enter." He kept struggling against the strong hands of the man in front of him but the bodyguard didn't budge.

"Let go of me! I'm his doctor!" Suddenly, a knock echoed from the other side of the door. The second guard, still standing stiffly by the door, scanned his ID and the door opened. When the doctor caught sight of Elison, anger boiled up.

"You can't do this! You can't do this to him!" The CIA agent merely looked bored.

"You've already said that much. I bet everybody in the building heard you say that, for sure." Herzlicher swallowed quickly when the head of the CIA approached him, a dark expression on his face.

"And why do you think we can't do this, doctor?"

"You can't wake him up. He has been restless since the last time you woke him up, we had to increase his sedative, nothing that'll do his recovery any good. He's not ready yet." _Well, at least it's not a complete lie. _

"The last time's already a week ago. He's had two weeks to rest, I think that's enough."

"NO, it's not enough. He'll be in too much pain when you do it again, I'm certain. It'll be inhuman to do so." Elison took another step forward, now face-to-face to the increasingly frightening doctor.

"You need to understand a few things, doctor Herzlicher. First of all, in case you haven't noticed, Professor Charles Xavier, otherwise known as prisoner 99, has abilities no other human being has. Therefore, he's not human and so humans' laws don't apply when it comes to him. Secondly, although he looks like an innocent little boy when he's lying there in his plastic cell, he is a prisoner. He has been accused of, and actually confessed to, the murder of a CIA agent. Thirdly and most importantly…. He is dangerous. If he is allowed to freely read and control the minds of each and every one of us, he is capable of doing horrible things. Things that you cannot even imagine, doctor. He needs to be taken care of. Discretely. Be so kind as not to interfere."

Elison's eyes hadn't left his during the explanation. Leon knew now he'd not be able to change this man's mind, and deep inside the doctor knew the CIA agent was at least partly right.

He let out a long sigh and finally broke his gaze.

"Good. Now go to your office and stay there. We might need you when his medical state changes."

The doctor nodded and with the most useless feeling he has had in weeks, he could only watch the head of the CIA turning around and entering the Professor's cell again. He kept watching even after the door was long closed.

_I'm sorry, Charles._

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><p><strong>What is Elison doing to him in that room? <strong>**And why? Keep in touch for a surprise turn!**

**The more reviews, the sooner the update :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A fast update because of the shortness of the last chapter :) Be prepared for angst coming your way!**

**Thanks again to dont-call-me-koschei for beta-ing.**

**Please, please… you won't let me begging you for reviews, do you? **

The Experiment

The pain didn't come as quickly as he had remembered before. Instead, it slowly made its way down his body, increasing as it passed by more nerves. Although it was still painful, it was better to accept. Just when he was about to give his mind a try, the change to consciousness prevented that. His body jolted awake with a shock. He started panting but found himself in more pain by doing so. It took him a while to adjust, trying to ignore the hurt and control his breathing.

Finally, he cracked open his eyes one by one, just to meet again the eyes that had caused him many nightmares since the last time he had seen them.

"Hello Charles." The voice sounded faded, like it was from a distance. He didn't bother to talk because there was something he wanted to know more than anything.

When he tried to access his mind, it was foggy to say the least. He could vaguely remember the events on the beach and the time he had seen the man, who was CIA as he could recall, but everything else was a blur. Black holes followed by clouds and bits and pieces. Certain names.

_Erik._

He tried and tried, but he couldn't. First, Charles was confused, dazed. Now, panic started to creep in while he kept trying until his mind hurt.

He couldn't make out Erik's face.

But before he had time to gather his thoughts, the CIA agent grew impatient.

"Wake up."

Charles let his mind rest for now and tried to concentrate on the voice instead. Although the man got clearer into his vision, he remained standing in a haze.

Charles let out a growl when he felt another stab of pain in his back. His mouth felt dry when he tried to speak.

"Mister…Elison." The smirk went by unnoticed by Charles.

"You remember. That's good. So you remember what you said last time?" Charles' mind went back to one of the few things he did recall. _He confessed to killing Moira. _He tried to hide the tears forming in his eyes when he spoke up.

"Yes, I…remember." In his unclear vision, Charles saw the agent looking him over. The Professor took advantage of the silence to take in his surroundings. He was apparently lying down in a small room, completely made out of some sort of plastic. No windows. No doorknob. Nothing.

"Where… am I?" Elison let out a laugh.

"That's far from important right now." The mutant found his head being turned towards the agent by a large hand.

"I'd appreciate it if you look at me when you speak, 99." The telepath looked at him confused.

"99?"

"You're a prisoner now, in the hands of the CIA." He saw Elison's face coming closer.

"You're not just a prisoner, 99, you're considered a national threat and therefore a terrorist. You're in a high-tech facility where people like you can be contained easily, without a chance of getting out. So don't bother trying. Whoever enters here as a prisoner, gets a new name out of protocol. Yours is 99. So you better get used to it."

The CIA agent had studied at the man's face while talking and was pleased when he saw the mutant's expression slightly turning into panic. His smile only grew wider when he saw 99 struggling with his bonds, desperately trying to get his hands free.

"Are you trying to get free so you can use your powers on me? Entering my mind to convince me you're actually just a kind and innocent little man?"

Charles found himself getting angry.

"What did you do to me?"

"Nothing, really. Just a mild sedative. And a muscle relaxant. Or maybe two. I don't know, you should ask the doctor."

"You can't do this."

"I can't? Watch me. And besides, it's not permanent. The medicines will wear off, only then you should start worrying." With a sinking sense of resignation, the telepath realized that there was nothing he could do and forced himself to stop struggling. He hissed softly when the pain in his body returned more fiercely than before.

"You can't imprison me like I'm some sort of animal. I have my rights!" The agent became angry.

"You have rights? You think you have rights after killing a CIA agent by letting her choke on her own dog tags? After you almost blew up hundreds of people with their own weapons? You're a terrorist, one that needs to be taken care of by all means necessary." Charles felt himself getting angry too.

"I'm just as human as you are!" Elison now only smirked. Fear crept up inside Charles when the agent laid a hand on his chest.

"Oh, my dear 99. I think you're wrong there."

Even though he struggled, he knew it was of no use. The telepath could only keep staring into merciless eyes when the hand on his chest started to move down torturously slow, leaving fiery pain in its wake. The hand stopped on the left hand side of his torso and was lifted, only to be placed back on his chest, repeating the path down to the right of his abdomen.

While Charles bit back the pain, he vaguely heard the agent talking.

"My goal here may be called ambiguous. I have been the head of the CIA, searching for criminals, murderers, rapists, for years and years now. You're only just one of many I have to be taken care of to keep this country safe for a while longer. But I do have alternative reasons too."

He felt the hand crossing his chest and only now, Charles saw that it was actually _fire _that came out of the agent's fingers. His eyes returned to look at the man and he felt like he was staring straight into the eyes of the devil.

"I'm not only protecting the normal human race against people like you, 99. People like _us. _I also need to look after our own people, since you were so eager to expose our existence. And if the humans finally find out about us, we're doomed. I can't let that happen."

Elison finally released his hand when he straightened his back, smiling at the creation he had just made on the telepath's abdomen.

"I'll leave you now to be looked after. When the sedatives wear off, we'll make an end to your powers and we'll put you in a prison where you belong for life."

Charles was too stunned to reply, and in too much pain. He watched with pure panic when the CIA agent made his way to the door and knocked. The door opened from the outside.

With already one foot outside the cell, Elison turned around to face his prisoner one last time.

"Oh, and 99? Only your hands are bound by the way, resembling handcuffs on normal people. The human laws still apply to you right now. We were in no need to bind your legs, since you're not able to use them anyway."

The door closed, leaving a hyperventilating Charles completely alone in his dark plastic cell.

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><p><strong>A little short<strong>**, I'll admit. Did you all like it? How do you think it'll turn out? **

**Next chapter will be longer again!**


	7. Chapter 7

**So here's the next chapter! It took a while longer than expected, but unfortunately my beta couldn't find the time to correct this chapter. So you'll have to do with the best I can do! **

**Let's not waste time then.. Enjoy! And never ever forget to review!**

The Plan

"I can't stand it anymore!" If the situation hadn't been so dreadful, Erik was sure he'd laughed at the sight of Raven almost turning red underneath all that blue. But he didn't laugh, instead he calmed her down. At least, that he was trying to do.

"Calm down, Mystique. Just a few more days."

"A _few_ more days? It's already two weeks ago, Erik! How long do you think he can take it, whatever they're doing to him…" Seeing the blue girl looking so afraid, defeated and angry at the same time, it made the magnet realize he felt exactly the same. And there was still only one way he knew how to react.

"Damn it, Raven. You know we're not ready… If we go know, we'll all get killed!" He knew he should've stopped, but he couldn't. He reached out the her, grabbing her shoulders to make her stop pacing up and down.

"Look at me! Is that what you want? You want us all to get killed? Or worse?" The furiousness quickly evaporated out of her and was replaced by fear… fear to hear the truth. She didn't answer though.

"Well?"

"You're hurting me…" Erik, a sting of guilt coming up, let go of her immediately. An uncomfortable silence filled the room. She finally spoke.

"Of course I don't want that. And of course I trust you to do the right thing." Erik growled underneath his breath.

"Then why are you doing this?" She saw his eyes, his posture still filled with hatred and so her next words were mere whispers, scared of how the metal-bender might react.

"Because we'll never be ready… _you'_ll never be ready." Mystique had never seen so many emotions cross someone's face in such a short time. Erik's glare started out as being angry but was soon replaced by sadness, confusion, admittance and finally acceptance. She dared to come closer.

"You know we can do this. It's easy really. We all trained hard the last couple of days, we've done exactly what you longed us to do. Alex can aim, Sean can hold still in the air, Beast improved his flying skills and his new-born anger issues… we've trained."

She suddenly felt it hard to breath, but she needed to continue.

"It's just us… _you _being not ready to face him. You're afraid of what you might find… how you'll find him. But also what he thinks of you when you do." Erik let his head hang in defeat. He admitted way sooner than she ever thought he would.

"You're right. I just… He's in pain because of me. He's suffering because of me. I just wish it would've been me instead of him." Raven now looked down too, not sure how to answer.

"At least you'd all still have someone to learn from… To share time with you. At least he still thinks the world's all good and believes in peace between mutants and humans. I can't give you that hope. I'm not even sure I want to give you that."

Both Erik and Raven were surprised about the confession the older man had just made. Although neither of them wanted to admit Erik was actually right, it didn't change the reality. And Mystique knew and felt that, every day and night, when she missed her brother's comfortable voice inside her head when she got angry, sad, scared or was having nightmares. He had been always there for her, and now he was gone, leaving a terrifying void behind.

_He needs to get back to us. Alive._

"It doesn't matter anymore what you want. It matters what he would've wanted. You owe him that much, at least until you return him safely back to us… to home." Erik jolted out of his trance.

"You're right."

"And we'll never be more ready than we are now." Before Erik had time to react, Hank suddenly stormed into the room. Two pair of eyes watched him impatiently until the beast finally caught his breath again.

"I found him. I found the man in your head."

"Who? Who is it?" Raven and Erik looked at each other when they spoke in unison.

"His name is Elison. He's the head of the CIA over here." Raven's eyes grew wide.

"How do we find him?"

"I don't know. He's practically untraceable, I only found out about his existence because of the information Moira gave me a while back. Back then, Moira had her thoughts about him being a mutant too." Neither Hank and Raven saw the sparkle in Erik's eyes when Raven continued.

"Oh God…"

"I do know how."

"How?" Two confused looks made Erik smile for the first time in two weeks.

"With the help of a telepath." Raven still didn't get it, but Hank caught up pretty quickly. The broad smile even made his rough blue face look mildly funny.

"Emma Frost." The sparkle in Erik's eyes returned and now both of the students saw it.

"Emma Frost."

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><p>When he entered the room and saw him lying there, Leon felt sick. He hung against the now closed door, trying hard not to vomit. He had seen a lot in his medical career and experience, but only rarely had he seen so much unnecessary cruelty done to one man.<p>

After he steadied his breathing and let the nausea subside, he slowly walked towards the table, watching in horror to the molestation done to Charles' bare chest. Where it was only pale skin was now covered in two large burn marks running across, forming a non-subtle 'X'. It would stay a scar no matter how Leon would treat it. The irony of the mark made a way for the urge to vomit and Leon quickly turned around, not bearing the sight any longer. He inhaled deeply for a couple of times, before he started to prepare everything he needed. He soaked a small towel into a bowl of water, wringing it before he turned back to the mutant to start his work.

He carefully placed the towel on the burn marks and when the towel hit his fragile body, Leon saw the professor flinching at his touch. He immediately stopped what he was doing.

"Hey there… I didn't know you were awake." Leon saw the man slowly opening his eyes and was taken aback by the enormous blue orbs glassily looking at him. _They looked scared. _

"I'm sorry. I didn't introduce myself yet. I'm Leon and I'm your doctor." He felt that the telepath still didn't trust him, looking at him with suspicion.

"I won't hurt you. I just need to take care of your… wounds." Leon sighed in relief when he saw Charles nod ever so slightly and closed his eyes again. The doctor quickly swallowed the lump in his throat before he applied pressure on the burn marks once again. Charles flinched again, a growl escaping his lips.

"I'm sorry but I need to do this before it'll become infected."

"S..kay…" The words came out as slurs, showing the man's weak state once more. Leon continued, ignoring the jolts of pain coming from the mutant underneath him as much as possible. When he was just about the finish up, Charles began to speak.

"You.. don't.. despise… me?" It hurt the doctor to see the man like this. Although he had no reason to like this man, to not fear him, he couldn't help himself but to pity him, to stand up for his rights in a place where everybody saw him as a criminal, an alien… a monster.

Leon gently touched the man hand closest to him while staring at him in all serenity.

"No, Charles… I don't despise you. There're a lot of reasons why I should, but I don't." To his surprise, he saw a small smile forming on his lips.

"You mean.. 99." Inwardly, he was hitting that smug face of the CIA agent. _No man has the right to take away someone's name._

"I mean Charles." He saw the man looking up at him, a hint of gratitude in his eyes.

"How did he..." Leon was so eager to know how Elison had made those burn marks, but the Professor cut him off midway.

"Don't… ask." The doctor immediately regretted it.

"Sorry… I…"

"Stop… apolo…gizing. Out of automatism he wanted to apologize again, but smirked instead.

"Okay." He saw Charles now fading fast, unable to keep his eyes open. He touched his forehead and felt that he was burning up. He wanted to talk, but Charles beat him first.

"S…true.. my…"Leon saw him struggling.

"Stop talking okay. Don't force yourself." It had no effect.

"I… how…my…legs?" Leon was now boiling up inside. _That bastard told him he was paralyzed. _He kneeled down so he was at Charles' eyelevel.

"Charles… listen to me carefully." The telepath nodded.

"You were hit hard by that bullet… it almost split you in half you know. And yes, it's true that you haven't been able to use your legs since you were brought here…"

"How…long?"

"Two weeks now…" Underneath Leon's hand Charles' pulse sped up rapidly, the fear again evident in the mutant's eyes.

"But I found out just the other day that a part of your foot is responsive to the tests. There's still hope you'll get your leg function back. You have to remember that." The doctor didn't get a response.

"Charles… Charles, let's just keep this between us, okay? We don't tell anyone. We'll keep trying and testing, but we won't tell anyone. Okay?" Finally, the man nodded and Leon released a breath he didn't know he was withholding.

"Now, get some rest and when you wake up, the sedatives will be worn off and you'll feel a little better." When Charles eyes closed and sleep finally caught up with him, Leon could only bow his head, feelings of betrayal creeping up on him.

_The worst it yet to come. _

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><p><strong>What's Erik planning on doing with Emma Frost? And how will this help them find Charles?<strong>

**Will they be too late? Let me know what you think! Can't do without your comments! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Many, many thanks for the lovely reviews! Please keep it up, it's much appreciated!**

**Another chapter, look out for hurt/comfort! **

**I'll probably continue this story without a beta reader.. Advantage: story gets updated more frequently. Disadvantage: you'll need to swallow my minor grammar imperfections.**

**Enjoy!**

The Rescue

Charles slept for days even though the medications were wearing off pretty quickly. Leon was there with him for most of the time, tending his wounds, testing his neurological functions. His enthusiasm grew when he saw all the toes and Achilles' tendon of the mutant's left foot respond to his hammer. Although he couldn't ask Charles about the sensations and motoric functions of his left leg, the doctor was almost certain that those things were slowly returning too.

There were short moments were the telepath would wake up and every time it happened, the doctor could only hope it wouldn't take long. Charles would then tremble all over, burning up quickly with his breathing uneven while desperately trying not to scream out loud. He failed every once in a while and the agonizing cry would linger in the room for minutes after.

Leon had been prepared for this time since the beginning. The amount of sedatives giving to the mutant from the moment he had been imprisoned, had been sky high. He had been deep under for two weeks, except for the moment Elison had come to say hi, and that hadn't done the professor any good either. It had been short of a miracle that Charles had survived those doses at all. If they'd have stopped the medicine abruptly, his heart would've probably stopped beating too. Fortunately, the agents had listened to him and they had giving him time to lower the sedatives, giving the mutant a chance to survive. And now his body was reacting to it…

It had gone into withdrawal.

The doctor tried the best he could. He tried to keep him from burning up, changing the cloths on his forehead every couple of hours. He would strain him, keeping him from trembling so hard that his wrists bled against the hard locks surrounding them. The mark on Charles' chest kept burning up like it was lit on fire again and again. The only food entering his body through a probe came out every so often, leaving his stomach with nothing to digest. There was nothing Leon could do but to keep him alive while the telepath endured all of it.

Finally, after three days, the trembling decreased, his fever seemed to lower and the moments of consciousness were increasing. Most of the time, Leon spoke to him while Charles was clearly too weak to do so himself. He'd talk about the weather, the passion for his work as a doctor, stories of crazy patients he had threated when he was still working in the ER. Eventually he talked about his wife, his love for her and the moments they had shared with each other. Only when he found out the true meaning about his new job, he had forced her to leave, to run away so she would be in safety. He saw Charles' face lit up while he was talking, glad to be distracted from everything else. But it'd darken again when he realized that it wouldn't stay this way.

And he was right.

His arrival was sudden. Without any hint, Elison walked into the room, a smirk on his face that was impossible to miss. A scientist drabbled in after him, pushing a tray with three different kind of syringes, all labelled with a different colour. The doctor wanted to protest, but reconsidered when he heard himself spoken to.

"Just… go." Leon looked horrified towards Charles, seeing that the professor had put up with the fact that he nor the doctor could do anything to prevent this from happening. And so the doctor left, unable to watch what was about to unfold.

Neither Elison nor Charles had a reason to speak and so Elison stood in silence while he waited for the scientist to prepare the syringes and take his leave again. The head of the CIA pulled up a syringe and without any warning shoved it into Charles' exposed arm. He folded his arms and waited for the liquid to have its effect. It didn't take long and the telepath felt his heart pumping faster, his pulse increasing and his vision becoming clearer. He was no longer in a black haze only feeling half awake. No, it was now the complete opposite. He looked up to his fellow mutant when a voice entered his mind for the first time in weeks while the CIA agent kept his mouth closed. The realisation however had already struck Charles before he heard the thoughts not his own in his head.

_I gave you adrenalin, 99. __So I know your powers are working before I completely end them forever._

Charles closed his eyes momentarily, trying to control the overwhelming energy that the return of his ability gave him. He regretted the action immediately, right after he realized it was a sign that the agent was waiting for.

_Ah, so you are hearing my thoughts.__ Fascinating. Let's not waste time then. _

Charles saw Elison picking up the second syringe and knew this time it wouldn't be adrenalin. With newfound energy he forced himself into the other one's mind.

_Drop the syringe. Drop the syringe now. _

He saw it having effect when the agent's hand stopped halfway lingering in the air. But Elison only smiled and Charles heard the horrifying thoughts echoing in his own head.

_You can't hold on to this forever. You're way too weak to control your powers for so long. But I'll wait while you play. _

The head of the CIA was completely right and Charles knew it. His hands bolded into fists, trying to force his last portion of energy towards his controlling thoughts.

_Drop the syringe._

He succeeded, the syringe silently dropping onto the floor before his body went limp and releasing Elison. In a fraction of a second, the other had picked up the other syringe from the tray and forced it hard into the telepath's arm, catching his breath from the effort it had taken him. Again, the smirk stole away Charles' view.

Just before his body went into an epileptic insult, he heard his last words.

"Enjoy the ride, 99."

* * *

><p>Raven's amazing ability made it easy for her to change into an officer and made her way towards Emma Frost's cell. She was granted permission to the cell with relative ease and she almost felt sick when she encountered the crystal lady in her human body.<p>

Emma Frost was lying on her back on a metal table, her hands folded onto her stomach, like she was patiently waiting for someone to come and get her. When Raven entered in her new form, she quickly jumped up, elegant as she was. She crooked her head when she didn't recognize the officer. Before she had time to say something, a loud thought entered her mind.

_Read my mind and don't talk out loud. _Emma didn't respond, but didn't say anything either so Raven continued carefully.

_I'm Mystique. You probably already know we killed Shaw. _She saw Frost's lips tighten, but still didn't respond.

_There's no one who cares about you now, Emma. No one who will rescue you._

_What do you want?_

_We want you to locate someone for us. In return, we'll help you escape and afterwards you're free to go as you please._

_Don't you have your own telepath? _Now it was Raven's turn to curl up her lips. Emma quickly understood.

_Ah… somebody took your handsome telepath and now you want __me to locate him. I'm sorry, honey, but I can't trace him because he's a telepath too. I thought you knew that._

_No, not him._

_But they did take him? _

_Yes._

_Then why not?_

_We…. _Mystique swallowed hard. _We didn't hear from him. He hasn't entered our minds in weeks. We're thinking that they either keep him unconscious or are doing something to him that unable him to use his ability. _

_And he's therefore untraceable._

_Yes._

_Interesting. Then what do you want me to do?_

_Locate someone who's probably nearby him._

_My mind can't reach that far. Although I don't like to admit it, his powers are stronger than mine._

_We found a solution for that. _The crystal lady looked confused, but smiled nevertheless. Raven kept a stern face.

_So we have a deal?_

_We have a deal. _

Raven nodded and turn around to walk away from the female telepath, silently dropping a paperclip out of her hand while doing so. No one noticed her exiting the building.

* * *

><p>It took Hank a while to explain Cerebro to Emma, but finally to everyone's surprise she was willing to participate into using the machine.<p>

After five minutes, the machine started to beep and a location was written down on the paper. Hank quickly stopped Cerebro and Emma was glad for it. She held on to the railing when she sucked in a deep breath.

Erik, who finally stopped pacing up and down, looked at Hank with frantic eyes.

"And?" Hank smiled his broadest smile in weeks.

"We have a location." Hank thanked Emma sprinted out of the room to follow Erik, on their way to execute their plan.

* * *

><p>It took them two days to make the perfect plan. Hank would fly them as close as possible towards the bunker. The bunker, well hidden in a forest, was guarded by several agents. They would lead the first guards standing by the outside gate into the forest by a bark from Beast. From there, it would be easy for the X-men to take them out. Erik and Raven changed into the guards' clothes while Raven took over one of their identities. Sean would fly over, carrying Alex who would carefully hit every object not made of metal out of the way of Erik and Raven who made their way towards the front of the bunker. They passed several guards, some questioning looks from time to time, but none of them were smart enough to look up or think any further of it.<p>

So, with ease, Erik and Raven arrived at the front door, and Mystique held her new eyes in front of the scanner. She looked aside to Erik with a smile when the door opened smoothly. They knew it would be much harder to find their way towards Charles now since they had no idea of the interior area of the building. But they were prepared, and the moment they entered, outside Sean let out a sound wave hard enough to trigger the alarm before he flew away with Alex.

The two mutants tried to find their way towards the cell block. They were as careful as possible but that turned out the be difficult when everybody was trying to get out while they made their way in. They searched the place with their eyes, and finally Erik grabbed Raven by her arm.

"There it is." Mystique followed the trajectory of Erik's pointing finger and now saw the small 'X' painted above a large door. She remembered Emma explaining what she saw after being in Cerebro, and heard her talking about a cell block 'X' where they had the biggest chance of finding Charles.

They made their way towards the door and Erik scanned the ID on his new suite. He cursed out loud when the scanner gave a red signal.

"It doesn't work."

"Here, let me try." Raven held her stolen ID in front of the scanner but also failed to open the door. Their eyes met and locked for seconds. They were both equally determined to get Charles out of here and both realized they were closer than ever. Finally, the metal-bender unlocked their gaze and looked around to see if anyone was noticing them. When he found none, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Stand back." The other nodded, knowing what he was trying to do.

Casually, Erik walked towards the door and held both hands on the door. With some effort, the heavy metal door bowed underneath the man's strength and gave in. With the door ajar, they both squeezed in, giving themselves access towards cellblock X.

They silently made their way to the large hallway, Erik protectively holding Raven behind him with his hand. They encountered no one and they both released their breaths when they arrived at the corner. Erik held his finger to his mouth, signalling to Raven to keep quiet, and looked carefully around the edge of the wall before bowing back again.

He gestured her to come closer and they were standing uncomfortable close when he began whispering in her ear. His voice caused a shiver make its way down her spine when he spoke.

"Two guards. I'll take care of them and will enter." Raven started to protest but he held his hand in front of her mouth.

He now looked at her, sincere and with the most honest eyes she had ever seen.

"We can't enter both. I need eyes and ears on the outside."

"Hmmph…" She tried to talk against his hand.

"When I don't come out in fifteen minutes, go and get help." She finally realized he was right and nodded. He released his hand slowly and gave her a surprising kiss on her forehead. She then grabbed his arm, preventing him from leaving just yet.

"Just… be careful. I know you think it's your fault, but I don't want to lose you either. You're irreplaceable."

"I'll return with Charles, that I promise." With that he walked around the corner. Raven turned to see what was happening and saw that he had made the two guards colliding with each other with just a movement of his hands. He kneeled down to one of the unconscious guards and picked up an ID. He held it against the scanner and the door opened silently. He gave her one more look before stepping over the guards and entering the prison.

Raven let out a sigh and stood against the wall, inwardly counting the seconds passing by.

Neither of them had noticed the man on the other end of the hallway, observing everything that had happened.

When Mystique finally heard the footsteps, it was already too late. She looked around the corner and saw an older man approaching the unconscious guards. She squinted her eyes to check to name of his ID and her eyes grew wide in shock.

_Elison._

She could only remain motionless and watch the man look over the guards, kneeling down to grab the ID from the other guard. Raven gasped and held her hand in front of her mouth. She knew she was no match for him. In shock, she looked at the man who now held his hand against the scanner. A fire suddenly escaped from his palm and the scanner burned underneath his hand till there was only soot left.

He walked away in the opposite direction of Raven, a smile going by unnoticed, leaving the door locked with no way to enter.

* * *

><p><strong>You know a person can't ever get enough reviews? <strong>

**Tell me what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**T****he next one already! I bet you appreciate the quick update :D**

**Major angst and hurt/comfort! Be prepared for the best chapter so far! The chapter you've all been waiting for :)**

The Confrontation

He was unable to breath. The figure lying in front of him took away every breath, but also every hope that everything would be okay. He just stood there like he was chained to the floor, frozen in time and place because of the sight he was currently watching.

Erik was snapped out of his trance when he heard a burning sound on the other end of the door. He turned around, trying to find a scanner, a doorknob, anything that would let them out. Instead, he felt nothing. He turned around, scanning the small room before returning his gaze to the body strapped on the table in the middle of it. Plastic straps, a plastic table… plastic walls. Fear started to creep up inside of him, feeling utterly useless. He remembered a moment all too vivid in his mind… a moment involving a still innocent little boy and a coin. This felt exactly the same as then.

There was no way to escape.

Instead of thinking about what to do next, Erik inhaled deeply when he felt a lack of oxygen from holding his breath. _First things first. _He tried to steady himself for what was to come, to prepare the sight of _him_. He had prepared for two and a half weeks now, but never could someone be prepared for this. Not even him. And so he finally let the reality take over.

He slowly walked forward, his eyes not leaving the other person in the room. When he stood next to the table he tried to take in what he saw. He felt his mind starting to black out because of the horror in front of him. His stomach crumpled when he continued to look nonetheless. His breathing started to become uneven while his vision became blurred, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. His knees started to tremble, ready to collapse on the floor when Erik let his emotions run free for the first time since they last saw each other.

He had expected bad, but this was the result of pure and mindless rage.

Charles' body was almost unrecognisable. His face was extremely pale, his eyes hollow and covered in blue rims while a probe stuck out of his nose. His cheeks and chin were covered in deep cuts, one of them red and still oozing some blood. Stubbles had formed above his mouth and his pronounced cheekbones, giving him an even unhealthier look. Alongside the corners of his mouth were trails of foam coloured pink resulting from the addition of blood coming out of a wound on his bottom lip.

When Erik's eyes continued on towards his chest, his stomach finally gave in and his last meal ended up on the plastic floor. He didn't know what he hated to see more… the gaunt chest or the large scars running along it. Erik could easily count all his ribs and he was afraid Charles would fall apart of he'd touch him. The IV the telepath was attached to wasn't dripping but wasn't removed either. His eyes glanced down to the tiny holes in the fold of his arm.

Only when he took notion of Charles' wrists, his emotions exploded. Another wave of tears left his eyes when he carefully placed his hand on top of his friend's battered wrist. It was almost completely removed from skin, the bones visible through the remaining of it. The bounds were covered in red and clotted blood had formed pools next to it on the table.

Erik closed his eyes, impossible to continue looking. _It was all his fault. He should've been lying there, not him. Not Charles, the wonderful, selfless, kind, amazing man that he was. He had left him at that beach, selfish and unaware as he was. He should've known this was about to happen. He had never trusted humans neither would he ever. This was the last drop. _

His thoughts continued to darken, filling his mind with accusations and wrongdoings. He almost missed the growl filling the room, but felt the pulse underneath his palm speeding up, parallel to his own now. He looked up and heard another growl. He shoved his hand away, not sure what to do. He saw Charles' brows furrow, his expression painful and upset.

Erik forgot everything else and quickly cupped Charles' face in his hands. _He hadn't been there for him when he had needed him the most, but he was now and he promised himself he would never ever leave him again._

His voice betrayed him when it trembled.

"Ch-charles?" Another growl.

"Pl-please Charles, wake up. Wake up, my friend." A wave of relief came over him when the blue eyes stared into his. _How he had missed those eyes. _

"Er…"

"Yes, Charles. It's Erik. I'm here. I won't leave you again." The telepath suddenly coughed violently, another trail of foam and blood leaving his mouth. Erik soothed him, but the coughing spree went on and on. After what seemed like an eternity the young man stopped, his body suddenly going limp.

Erik's whole body radiated anger. Massive, unlimited anger towards them whom had done this to his friend. His best and only real friend he ever had. Although he didn't know what the future would bring, if Charles would make it or not, but he was determined to pay those monsters back the way they deserved it. _They'll regret doing this for the rest of their lives. _

He snapped back to the present and watched Charles return to the land of the living, now only capable of taking shallow breaths. When his eyes opened again, he looked at him fiercely.

"Who did this to you?" Charles didn't answer, but Erik saw the look in his eyes sadden.

"You.. should… not…have…come." Another cough.

"Can you stop saying that? I believed you the first time, but not anymore." Erik came closer, his face now only inches away from his'.

"It doesn't matter if you sacrifice yourself or not. It won't help. They know of our existence. They don't only know of us… they _are _us_. _The head of the CIA is even one of us. We can't hide anymore._" _Charles eyes grew wide and he tried talking again. Erik cursed himself for not bringing any water or food and could only wait and watch the professor struggle.

"You… know… of…?"

"Elison? Yes." Only then, Erik began to understand.

"Elison… Elison did this to you?" Charles' silent was consent.

"That bastard! I promise you Charles, I will…"

"It… doesn't matter… who did it." Erik couldn't believe his fellow mutant could stay so stubborn and ignorant.

"Of course it matters! He's the head of the CIA for Christ's sake! He poses as one of the most important people responsible for our safety while he's the most dangerous of us all. He is supposed to protect the innocent, not attack them."

"I'm not… innocent." The words caught the metal-bender by surprise.

"Charles… if someone's innocent, it's you. It wasn't you who killed that stupid female CIA agent and it wasn't you who almost killed hundreds more." He bowed his head. "It was me… I'm the one to blame, and I'm the one who should have endured all of this, not you!"

"I… let you… kill Moira."

"You prevented me from firing those missiles. You were almost dying when I… killed her. There was nothing you _could _do." Charles blinked hard.

"Shaw." Erik suddenly felt sick again.

"He deserved to die."

"I…felt it…Erik. I… felt him… dying… inside me." The magnet was struck with horror. _He never thought of that. He never thought he could feel guiltier than he had felt the last weeks. How wrong he had been. _He retrieved his hands of Charles' face.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." He kneeled down, gently stroking Charles' arm.

"I deserve nothing more than your hatred. But I'll make it up to you. I'll take you out of here and bring you home, where you belong. I'll do anything in my power to make that happen, even if it means I'll die trying. When you're safe and sound, I'll take my leave if you desire so. I won't hesitate to do what you wish me to do. That I owe you."

A single tear escaped from Charles' eye while he kept staring straight into the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in his whole life. The most honest and hurt eyes, constant reminders of all the pain he suffered at the hands of merciless thoughtless people. Eyes who hadn't felt much love, who had been alone for so long. But also the eyes who were searching for a destination, a place to belong, to finally settle down after being on the run for so long.

He would never be capable of giving him such a place in his current state.

"Leave me…here." There was no need to hold back more tears now.

"Never again, Charles. Never again."

"I'm… useless."

"What?" The telepath didn't respond but fell into another coughing spree. In the meantime, Erik couldn't stand it any longer. He grabbed the only piece of metal in the room, on the officer's belt, and shaped it into a sharp little knife. With two swift motions, Charles was freed from his bounds and was about the fall of the table while he kept coughing. The magnet held him close to him while he endured all of it. Finally it subsided again.

"I'm… they… took..." Charles was too out of breath to continue. The feeling of not knowing was killing Erik inside.

"They took what, Charles?" He became desperate and was now almost screaming.

"Tell me… tell me what they took. Tell me…" The answer was a soft whisper.

"My… powers..."

"NO! NO! NO! It can't be, it can't be. Tell me you're lying. Tell me you're just convincing me to leave you here."

"They… gave me… a… medicine…"

"A medicine? But how? What…"

"It's…what's causing… the cough." Erik stroke Charles' hair while he let the information sink in.

"Oh Charles… my dear Charles." He held him up, letting his body lean on his' to keep him upright.

"You're going home with me, end of discussion. And now we need to get out of here. Do you think you can sit upright by yourself?" Charles smiled weakly and nodded. Erik slowly released him and went in search for a way to escape against better judgment. He let himself rest against the wall.

"It's all plastic." He heard the telepath chuckle lightly.

"How… ironic." Even Erik found himself laughing quietly.

"You think this is funny, don't you?" The men looked at each other, smiles plastered on both faces.

"Pretty.. funny, yes." Erik's face returned stern again.

"I'll try to contact Mystique, tell her to…"

"You… brought… Raven?" The sudden act appeared to be too much for his weakened state and Charles found himself slowly falling backwards. Erik was there in no time, preventing him from hitting his head against the table.

"Of course she came. She wanted to. You know she has a will of her own. The others too, by the way. They all helped to get you out of here. So for once and for all, stop struggling and let us." Their intense look broke when a knock on the door was heard. A soft and familiar voice entered the room.

"Erik!" He looked at Charles again.

"Stay upright this time, okay?" He slowly let the man go before running towards the door.

"I'm here, Mystique!"

"How's Charles? Is he in there?" He heard the worry in her voice when he slowly turned back to face the man on the tableand could only think of one answer. _On the brink of death. _ Charles shook his head the best he could while piercing his blue eyes into his'. Erik understood exactly what he was trying to say.

"Yes, he's in here. He's safe." He imagined her sighing in relief.

"What's taking you so long?" Erik almost felt ashamed to answer.

"The room's made of plastic and the door can only be opened from the outside." Suddenly, Raven panicked.

"Oh no!"

"What is it?"

"Elison. It's Elison. Just when you went in, he came and burned down the scanner and took the other ID. There was fire coming out of his hands, Erik." In the corner of his eyes, the older man saw Charles looking down, encountering for the first time the evidence of Raven's statement. Erik felt himself getting sick again when the woman on the other end of the door spoke again.

"Erik… what can I do?" The men locked eyes and stayed that way, both feeling exactly the same.

Powerless. Failed.

Raven kept calling their names, but neither responded. While feeling the other one's pain, they had never felt so close and yet so far away from one another. So together and yet so alone. How they both wanted so badly but couldn't at the same time. Both men saw their own failures in the other's eyes, the flaws and the imperfections, the hurt and sorrow. And yet they couldn't part.

They were meant to be together. Forever.

Charles never broke their gaze when he spoke.

"The…doctor." Neither Erik was able to let go.

"What about him?"

"He'll…help. His name… is Leon."

"Mystique… go find the doctor. He's called Leon. He'll help you. Go now… Be careful."

"I will.. hang on, okay?"

With that, her voice disappeared as sudden as it had come.

Erik and Charles were again left alone. But this time, they were alone _together._

* * *

><p><strong>I'm desperate to hear your opinion!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**All my thoughts go out to everyone directly or indirectly struck by the horrors done in Norway.**

The Escape

He held him upright the best he could, managing to half lean against the table while letting him rest against his shoulder. The effort of sitting upright and talking had been too much for Charles and Erik had found him falling into a deep sleep against him. His instincts told him to check on him, to see if he really was just asleep or that he was slowly losing consciousness, but he hold back. Even if he had fallen unconscious, there was nothing Erik could do. Nothing at all. And that fact hurt him more than anything else.

If only he had never let it happen.

He should never have listened to him, leaving him so vulnerable and alone at that beach. Anyone with only a minor intelligence could've seen that nothing good would've come out of that, but Erik had failed to see it. Too much driven by emotions, by his anger, by the rational words of Charles Xavier while he probably thought he was dying. He had never ever seen someone so selfless as the professor. He should've known it was going to be his death sentence in the end..

He heard a slight moan next to his ear and he carefully shifted so he was facing Charles. Every time he looked him over, his heart almost stopped, the agony too much to bear. But he needed to keep going, to keep his promises to Charles, but also to Raven and the others. And even to himself.

When he felt his heartbeat going to normal again, Erik dared to speak up.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Charles' breaths seemed even shallower and faster than when he first found him, his physical state clearly altering. He didn't answer and Erik found him going limp again. He now pushed him completely off of him and held him by his shoulders.

"Don't fall asleep again, okay? I need you to stay focus. Mystique will return soon and then we need to move fast. You hear me?" Charles did indeed straighten himself the best he could, holding his head upright while slowly opening his eyes.

"Okay…"

"Okay."

"Erik?"

"Yes?"

"You… need to… promise me… something." Erik's brow furrowed.

"After last time, I don't like making promises with you again, Charles." Knowing that it'd hurt both men too much to remember the events on the beach, he quickly added.

"But I promise I'll consider it."

"Promise me… Raven won't… see me… like this." Erik's eyes saddened. _Always thinking about someone else. _

"Charles… That's impossible. If you want us to be saved, she needs to see you. She's grown up now, Charles, and she's strong. Stronger than you can imagine. It's not your job to protect her anymore. She is perfectly able to do that herself." Erik watched as the telepath's ragged wrist moved towards his uniform, weakly grabbing him.

"You don't… understand. I failed." Erik was at the point to knock some sense back in the Professor's head.

"You failed? Failed what?"

"I failed… to protect her. She's… so beautiful… in her own form… I failed to… tell her that. I failed… to make her… strong. She deserves… so much and… I failed to… give her that. I failed… in everything. And now…"

"Charles… in all honesty… If we weren't here in this position, in this room, I would've knocked you unconscious with your own hands." This earned him a low chuckle, probably since Charles knew he was actually capable of doing that.

"I know you're completely crazy right now, so I'm not going to bother arguing with you. But you're deadly wrong about everything you just said." Charles looked at him with the eyes of an old man, a man who had seen too much in his way too short life.

"Please… Please promise me." The begging hit Erik hard and formed a knot around his torso. He was the one who needed to beg, to beg for forgiveness, to beg for the returning of some resemblance of a friendship with this almost perfect man, now only a shadow of the man he once was. He slowly nodded.

"I'll promise, Charles. Don't worry… I'll promise."

Neither men missed the knock on the plastic door.

* * *

><p>Raven walked as fast as she could while keeping track on her environment. She had been so relieved after hearing Erik telling her Charles was safe. Her brother was safe. She was so eager to see him, to hold him and to never let him go. It had been foolish of him to let him take the blame for everything. He had always been so stubbornly selfless that it was beyond the point of being smart. He was the one who had told them every time again that they were stronger together. They could rule the world, achieves their goals, if only they'd stick together. And he had done to exact opposite.<p>

When Raven rounded another corner, she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard footsteps pacing up and down. She slowly and silently made her way forward towards the room where the noise came from. When she carefully stuck her nose around the doorway, she saw a man around fifty, indeed pacing up and down the room in a very rapid pace. He suddenly stopped, grabbed a nearby table with his both hands and held his head down. She heard him curse underneath his breath. Mystique squinted to zoom in on the ID on his shirt. _L. Herzlicher. _This must be the doctor. Without another thought, she stepped into the room.

Leon quickly straightened up, a random object of the table now in his hand. When he saw the guard in the uniform stepping into the room, he felt his anger rising.

"Who are you? You're not allowed in here! Get out!" He was stepping forward, the object what seemed like a pipe raising up.

"Are you the doctor of Charles Xavier?" He suddenly stopped, the pipe still lingering in the air. Before he could think straight, he blurted it out.

"Yes. Who's asking?" He took a look at the ID card, but didn't recognize the name. Then, all of the a sudden, the man in front of him changed into a wonderful blue female creature. His mouth dropped, the pipe landing on the ground with a loud noise.

"What the…?" The creature stepped forward, holding out her hand.

"I needed to make sure you were him. I'm Raven. I'm Charles' sister." His mouth dropped even further.

"Y-y-you're t-t-the sister of… C-charles?"

"Not by blood. He found me when I was 11 years old and he took me into his protection and into his house. We've been family since." The doctor's sanity slowly returned to him and took in what this Raven just told him. _So it's true… Charles is indeed the good man he thought he was. _Only now he took notion of her hand reaching out and he quickly shook it.

"I'm Leon. I'm sorry for the… threatening words." Raven smiled broadly.

"Don't bother. You wouldn't have stand a chance anyway." Leon smiled too and quickly offered her a seat which she gladly took.

"You were the one hitting the alarm? How did you do that?" She kept smiling.

"I'll explain later. It was kind of cool, actually."

"But how did you come in here? You shouldn't be here, it's way too dangerous for people like you." Raven was getting pissed off.

"You don't actually think I was planning on leaving him here, do you?" Leon quickly shook his head.

"No, no, no. That's not what I meant. Of course not. But if they catch you, you'll probably end up just like him. I'm sure that's not what Charles would've wanted." Raven was getting furious now, standing up and angrily looking down upon the doctor.

"What do you mean, end up just like him? What have they done to him?" Leon carefully swallowed. _She doesn't know. She hasn't seen him. He couldn't tell her._

"Nothing, really. Relax, relax. You know, just, locked up. Locked up is what I meant." He saw her slowly relaxing again, but she remained standing up.

"You… you need to help me save him." He stood now too.

"Is it…true that…"

"Is what true?" He wasn't sure how to put it and he felt ashamed of asking it, but he needed to know.

"Is it true what they say about your brother? That he killed a cop and what happened to those missiles?"

"NO! No, that's not true. He was the one who tried to prevent it all from happening. He's innocent. Of course he's innocent!" Leon sighed with relief.

"Thank God. I knew it. I just knew it."

"You need to help me."

"Absolutely. What's your plan?" Raven now shifted uncomfortable.

"Um… I was hoping you had one."

"I don't have a card to his room, but the guards in front of it have one. We could…" Raven cut him off.

"There's been.. a sort of complication."

"A complication?"

"My friend… I didn't come alone. He… he knocked those guards out and took one of their ID's." Leon was now getting confused.

"So, you already saved him?"

"Well, practically no. I was waiting outside and then all of a sudden a guy came out of nowhere. He picked up the other ID and burned down the scanner or something…" Leon's eyes widened.

"And you can't get out from the inside."

"Exactly." Raven studied the doctor's face when he was deep into thoughts. Then, he almost jumped up.

"I got it!" The blue female now got excited too.

"What do you want to do?"

"Follow me." They quickly made their way towards the cell, making a slight detour when Leon ran into a room and picked up a fire starter. Raven still didn't know what was going on, but she followed him nonetheless.

The doctor quickly swallowed away the fear when he saw the two guards lying unconscious on the floor. He checked if no one was nearby before knocking on the plastic door.

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><p>Erik quickly steadied Charles before walking towards the door. He didn't answer yet.<p>

"Hello? Hello there? It's Leon, the doctor." The metal-bender turned around to face Charles and saw the man slowly nodding. _This is it._

"Doc."

"Erik! I found him, he's going to get you out of there."

"Stand back. I'm going to burn down the door." Erik smiled broadly, feeling the excitement of the plan. _Burn down a plastic door. So easy yet perfect. _

"That's a great idea. Go…" He stopped when he heard Charles whispering softly.

"Erik… you promised." _Stubborn telepath._

"Doc… Mystique." Erik didn't see the confused look on Leon's face when he heard the strange name. He faced Raven and she only mouthed _I'll explain later._

"What is it?"

"Doc… you know what's going on. You know it's for certain eyes only." Leon kept staring towards the door when he heard Raven talking.

"What does he mean, Leon?" The doctor ignored her for the moment and continued talking to the door.

"Yes, I know."

"Then you know what to do. Burn down the door, then immediately turn around and make way for me to get Charles in safety." Leon nodded before realizing the man on the other side couldn't see him.

"I will. I will try to make a free way to the exit and take his sister with me."

"Promise me, Doc. Promise me."

"I'll promise. Now stand back."

Erik quickly made his way towards the telepath again and sat in front of him, carefully placing his head against his own chest.

"We're almost there, Charles. We're almost there."

"Thank you. Thank you… for coming." Although Erik was surprised, he felt his body react to the simple statement, an emotion floating over him that warmth him up like a heating sun. _Appreciation._

They sat in silence when the doctor worked on the door. It was a thick one and it took him longer than expected. Finally, the hole in the door was big enough to let the fire starter into the room. Leon stopped and threw it in, ignoring the shouts from Raven.

"Charles! Charles!" Erik saw the Professor barely able to stay conscious.

"Mystique… He's fine. Just trust me. Go. I'll meet you at the plane okay. Doc.."

"You'll have me word. Just hurry, before they'll find out the alarm is fake." Erik waited till their footsteps died and he quickly picked up the canister. In no time he finished what the doctor had started and soon the door was almost completely vanished.

Between the darkness and the present, Charles found himself picked up, the warmth of another one's body against his forehead. His arms were put around Erik's shoulders. Although the embrace hurt him, he didn't show it and was too weak to yell out anyway. All he could think of was that he was glad he didn't need to tell Erik he couldn't walk. He was paralyzed, probably forever.

They slowly made their way down the white hallways and Charles was finally able to breath in fresh air. He held his eyes closed against the bright light surrounding them, but he felt them closing in.

Freedom was so close.

They never heard the extra footsteps. Never felt the presence of an extra figure. The blast of heat caught them by surprise. Erik was too late and remained powerless against the fireball hitting his head. He fell forward, dropping Charles in his way. The professor ended up on his back on the other side of the hallway, a blinding pain screaming through his spine.

When he cracked open an eye, the light blinded him at first. Slowly, the blurry body of Erik came into vision, lying face down on the floor, blood dripping out of a wound on the side of his head.

Before he went into oblivion, Charles saw a man hovering above him, two big balls of fire coming out of his palms.

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><p><strong>And? What did you think? What can happen when the exit is already in sight? Let me know! <strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Apologies for the tremendous delay. Hopefully you'll enjoy this one! Full of action, angst and coolness! **

**Don't forget to review!**

The 'Go To Hell' Conversation

The peaceful darkness abruptly made place for the horrid present when two knees fell onto his stomach with great force, knocking him conscious. Charles let out a pathetic sound as only a resemblance of the pain he felt. It soon appeared to be too much when he felt his mind retrieving him back to the nothingness he had been in for almost two weeks. Two hands pressed against his clavicles prevented that though.

"Wakey wakey." Charles groaned before he finally faced the head lingering above him for a fourth time. _And probably the last. _

Elison checked him over, pleased to see the mutant was coming back to the living. _Only to put him back to sleep for good. _When the impatience built up, he went for the another boost to wake the telepath up completely.

The skin underneath his hands began to warm up and soon blisters were forming on it. Only when the mutant cried out in pure agony, his hands turned cold again.

"So, you were planning on escaping all along, weren't you?" Charles didn't respond but remained motionless since he was too tired and weak to struggle.

"Care to tell me who your friend is?" He swayed his head to the right and the professor moved his head too. Only then he took notion of the still unconscious form of Erik's body. _No. _

"You…." His lungs didn't allow him to say more. The CIA agent grinned.

"You what? You want to tell me something?" Without the ability to speak, move or fight, Charles felt helpless and defeated once again. Another wave of heat was sent through his body, two new burn marks developing on his scarred chest. He couldn't bring up the effort to scream again. Instead, he felt his eyes watering up.

Elison's face was now inches away from his' and Charles retched from the smell coming out of the agent's mouth. _The smell of pure hatred._

"Now… I asked you a question, 99. If I were you I'd want to live so you better answer me. Who's your friend and what's his ability?" Charles held his tears back, not wanted to give the other man the pleasure of seeing him broken. Never would he see him broken.

"I'm counting to three before there will be consequences." The telepath felt the anger now. Anger so strong he had never felt before.

"One…" He now knew why Erik always had been so full of anger. Why his life had the sole purpose of killing someone who didn't deserve to live.

"Two…" Erik had been through this suffering for years, he only for some weeks. Years of mindless suffering and torture at the hands of someone who clearly was completely insane. But it wasn't just the torture. It was also the loneliness. Sooner or later, everyone who endured such a thing was sure to believe he was indeed a monster like their captures told them so. A monster not supposed to live happily among the others. _Among the humans._ Those people were so mean and cruel that they were able to let us self believe we are the bad ones, the wrong people, the aliens… _the mutants. _

"Three…" The realisation hit him with a new force of energy. They were never able to live among the humans. Everyone would see them as different, and everyone would always hate them just like this guy Elison was hating them. And although not everybody would imprison them or do things to them that couldn't see the light of day, they would never be safe and happy. _Never. _

With that thought, he let the burst of energy leave his mouth with his last words. It came out smoothly and serene.

"Go to hell."

Elison now slowly stood up, his feet next to Charles' legs. His expression was playful.

"Well, well well. No need to be so rude, my dear." He saw that the agent held his hands up, palms facing the ceiling. Small balls of fire were developing en were growing bigger every second. In any other situation, Charles would've been intrigued by the guy's ability, the fact that his hands didn't burn and didn't even turn red. But now that he was facing death, his curiosity has left him, being replaced by a surprisingly calm feeling.

He had tried. Maybe not hard enough, maybe not long enough, but at least he had tried. He had put Raven to safety, and even the doctor would now be able to return home, reunite with his wife. Charles didn't mind to die now, because it would be okay. Everyone and everything would be okay. He was roughly pulled out of his dying thoughts when the other man started speaking again.

"I told you there'd be consequences. You'll pay for this." The telepath closed his eyes, awaiting for his faith to come. Elison saw the peaceful look on the mutant's face and his anger boiled up. He wasn't about to give this guy a peaceful death.

The fire never came. He was confused when, after a long silence, not the sound of burning skin filled the air around them, but a voice. He opened his eyes again, and was filled with shock and terror.

Elison was now pointing his hands towards the unconscious Erik, and Charles panicked. _No, no no. Not him. Not Eric. Not my everything. _

"Let's make this a little game shall we. Do you care more about your friend than yourself, 99?" Charles was too shocked to respond.

"Let's find out." The fireballs rose up in the air, angrily pointing towards his friend's face. Charles felt his body starting to tremble violently but Charles couldn't acknowledge the pain, completely consumed by fear and anger. A sudden tingle started in the big toe of his left foot, slowly becoming more pronounced when the trembling continued. The feeling in his left leg returned when the tingle, driven by adrenaline, made its way towards his hip.

Just when Elison was about to release the fire, Charles' left leg started to move. One violent movement to the right and his foot ended up in Elison's calf. The agent lost his balance and fell sideways with a surprising cry. The balls of fire made it ways towards the other end of the hallway, missing Erik's head within a hair's length to end up in the wall. The wall started to smoulder, a fire started to develop.

The loud noise and the warming heat caused Erik to stir and he slowly made his way back to the present. He felt the cold concrete against his right cheek while the left side of his head was heating up and a sharp pain entered into his skull. He blinked with his eyes to grow accustomed to the bright light.

When his vision returned to him, the sight before him was a scene alike one of his worst nightmares.

Elison was stumbling onto his feet, his face red with anger, a droplet of sweat dripping down his temple. He growled something unintelligible before he faced the man on the floor next to him. Between the bright flashes of the fire starting to develop in his hands, Erik saw Charles' face imbedded in sweat, his gaunt chest filled with new burn marks only ever so slowly rising up and down. Up and down, up and down. His friend was facing him, his eyes now locking with his'. A shudder cursed through Erik's body when he saw the empty eyes, drowned from every string of life. Eyes who were lingering towards death, not towards life.

With a loud scream he didn't recognize as his own, he threw his hand up, and all the metal around the agent's body caused him to be violently hit against the wall. Again, the balls of fire had escaped his hands, now missing Charles' head with mere inches.

Erik swung to his feet, pushing the head of the CIA more and more into the wall. He heard the guy beg and scream for his life when Erik's large hand squeezed around the man's neck, forcing the air out of him.

"Please.. please don't kill me. I didn't mean any harm. I was trying to protect you. To protect us. Please…" Erik gritted through his teeth while pushing his fingernails more into the skin of the agent's neck. He saw the man struggling to get air while his eyes sent out a pleading cry of help.

"Your begging is pathetic. You are pathetic. I should put you out of your misery once and for all." His voice was full of control and calmness. Erik had been looking forward to this exact moment for so long, for as long as he had been separated from Charles. From the only one who had ever meant something to him in his life after his mother's death.

"No, you don't understand, I wanted us good mutants be safe from the ones like that one." Erik followed Elison's gaze to where Charles was lying.

"Don't you see? He exposed us. He showed his ability to the normal people and ended up killing them. I prevented him from doing any further harm." Erik felt it difficult to turn away from the telepath's ragged body but faced the CIA agent nonetheless, hissing under his breath.

"Prevented it by taking away his ability? Taking away his only way of living.. his destiny?" Elison was still struggling for air since Erik didn't lose his grip for a second.

"I took away his ability so nobody would ever know he had one. I could explain to the rest of the world that it had all been a mistake, that there's no such thing as mutants and the rest of us could keep living in peace like we did before all this happened." The magnet's eyes were spitting fire and his grip tightened. Elison eyes grew wide with shock and confusion, still believing in his own strategy.

"You really think they would believe you? They saw it with their own eyes… And even if they did believe you… You have no right to take away a part of someone's life, the best part. We wouldn't even need be to hiding at all if there weren't people like you." Elison was getting desperate now, feeling his own ending coming closer with every argument he lost.

"But he killed a woman, a cop! He fired those missiles to hundreds of innocent humans! He deserves to die and to rot in hell!" Erik closed the distance between them, finally letting a smile escape his lips. The power he had felt when he had killed Shaw, the moment of magnificence filling his entire existence… the magnet felt exactly the same at this moment.

"See, you're wrong about that. You're wrong about everything, you know. He sacrificed himself for our sakes, even for yours. He claimed to be responsible for the murder of that disgusting human being of a CIA agent, a lowlife. He…", Erik now pointed at Charles with his free hand, "wanted you to blame him for something he didn't do. Because… he didn't kill her. He didn't turn those missiles towards the ships. I did."

If it wasn't for the shock it was from the lack of air that Elison was looking up in shock and terror towards the tall and slim Erik Lensherr. He finally gave in to the pressure and let out his last breath while his eyes were still filled with horror and disbelief.

Suddenly finding the man in his arms disgusting, Erik quickly retrieved his hand from the man's neck, the limp figure of the CIA agent making a loud thud when it made contact with the floor. Only then, Erik allowed himself to look at Charles, who hadn't moved an inch since the ordeal, his eyes now closed. The magnet kneeled down and was relieved to find his chest still rising, although dangerously slow.

With caution, Erik shoved his arms underneath the small body, easily lifting him off the ground. While he started walking towards the exit with a slow pace, he felt the adrenaline wearing off, his own eyelids becoming heavy and his muscles aching while his head started pounding hard. But when he looked at the figure in his arms, he was determined to set himself aside and do everything in his power to bring Charles to safety. _His Charles._

Erik found himself mumbling while he made his way to the exit that was already cleared by Raven, the doctor and the other mutants.

"Everything is going to be okay, Charles."

_Everything is going to be okay. _

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><p><strong>Do you agree with Erik? Will everything ever be okay? Let me know!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**I won't even begin apologizing for the delay. Real life took a hold of me but I'm back now and so is this story! Here's the next chapter. Only a couple more before completion, so be ready for what's to come!**

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><p><span>The Aftermath<span>

In the meantime, the other mutants hadn't been sitting, waiting, wishing. When Erik entered the hallway, he hadn't passed a soul on his way over there and with surprise he saw that the hallway itself was just as lifeless. He held his pace and squinted through one of the few small windows giving a view to the area surrounding the bunker.

Nothing. Completely deserted. Erik felt the proud rising inside his chest. They had done it, just like they had planned. He had led the children the way to find their beloved leader and save him the way the professor would've wanted it.. Without any unnecessary casualties.

While standing there, he hadn't realized until now that a blue fur had witnessed him while looking out the window and had made its way inside the building. Only when he let out a breeze, Erik froze up and looked towards him with eyes filled with shock. He had let his guard down. The fur made its way over him, careful not to terror the magnet any further.

When Erik finally recovered himself, Hank saw him going into defensive mode, not yet realizing he was an ally and not an enemy. He slowly laid his hand on his shoulder, demanding him to relax.

"Erik.. It's me. It's okay." After hearing the soothing and familiar voice of the Beast, Erik let himself relax only a little bit. When he saw Hank's eyes making their way down to the person he was holding , he followed his gaze and felt tears well up in his eyes. The sight wasn't something he could ever get used too. Only a resemblance of the strong and vivid Charles Xavier was remaining unconscious in his arms, a short breath every couple of seconds the only evidence he was still alive. He unlocked his eyes and tried to connect his' with Hank's but saw that he was too shocked and overwhelmed to do the same. Big tears were forming in the corners of his eyes, his shoulders were hanging down in defeat and the Beast was looking like a lost little puppy. Only then Erik knew why.

He thought the Professor was dead.

"Hank.. Hank!" The Beast finally looked up.

"Listen to me.. He's not dead. He's alive, but barely. We need to get him to safety and look him over as soon as possible." Erik saw the blue eyes grow in surprise.

"He's… he's… alive? But why isn't he breathing?" Erik tried to hide the impatience boiling up.

"You need to look closely.. Look!" Hank did as he was told and almost jumped in the air when he finally saw a shallow rise of the scarred chest of the Professor. As soon as the happiness had occurred it had died down again. The angry, swollen wounds and the pronounced ribs, the closed eyes and limp legs were scaring Hank more than ever now.

"But.. How? What have they done to him Erik?" The metal-bender swallowed hard before answering.

"It doesn't matter, Hank. It's doesn't matter. It's over. They can't hurt him anymore. But we can't let them win by letting him die like this! We need to move now." The Beast shook awake and quickly nodded.

"Yes, you're right. Let's go." Erik looked down once more, hearing the soft and sweet voice of his best friend ringing in his ears.

He had promised him.

"Hank.." Mentioned, already walking towards the exit, held his pace and turned around.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"I promised him something."

"What? What is it?" Erik didn't unlock his gaze with Charles' closed eyes.

"I promised him not to let Raven see him like this. If he doesn't make it, if he won't ever be the same, at least she remembers him the way he was. Strong. Confident. Handsome. Without scars and bleeding wounds and…" He swallowed hard.

"And?" How badly Erik wanted it to say it. _And __without __his __ability._But he didn't. He couldn't.

"Just… just get me a blanket to drape over him and block him from Raven's view when we get into the helicopter. Just do it, Hank. For Charles." The beast nodded and began fulfilling his task. Soon he had found a big black blanket and covered the Professor with it in Erik's arms. Hank took another good look at the vulnerable form in the magnet's arms before locking his eyes with Erik's.

"Will he... make it to the mansion, Erik? What if.." Erik heard the slight tremble in Hank's voice and resolutely knew the Beast wasn't in need for a teammate, or a colleague. No, he was in need of a leader.

"Of course he'll make it. All you have to do is focus. Get him home, Hank. Get it home." His fake confident voice was effective, and soon Hank's body was filled with adrenaline again. They nodded to one another and started walking towards the exit.

Soon they were surrounded by the rest of the X-men.. Raven, Sean and Alex came running towards them, all with worry and relief in their eyes. Leon, the doctor, remained standing from a distance, since he knew what to expect. He also feared the worst, not only for Charles but also for himself, not knowing what to think of the mutants. He had only ever seen bad mutants, those who threatened him and hurt other ones for their pleasures, and he honestly thought the hatred and angriness was part of the mutated genes of these people.

Until he met Charles. The self-sacrificing, honest and strong Charles Xavier. And then he got confused. He didn't know what to think anymore. And therefore he observed the scene in front of him from a distance.

Raven was the first one to get to the three men, almost bumping into Erik but the metal bender was just in time to turn ever so slightly before she could hurt Charles.

"Easy, Mystique, easy. He's alive, but we need to get him out of here ASAP." Raven's eyes welt up.

"Is he..?" She moved her hands towards her big brother, wanted to see him in total. She was shocked when Erik moved the professor only further away from her.

"But... I want to see him Erik, let me!"

"Don't, Raven. Don't. Think of your brother, think of Charles. He comes in first, okay? Now move out of the way." But Mystique didn't move and kept standing in front of Erik, her hands still trying to get to Charles.

Sean eyes were almost popping out of their sockets and he stood paralyzed, not quite prepared for the sight of their leader, looking only barely alive. He had imagined him walking out of there, with a big smile on his face and an arm around Erik's shoulder, saying: well done, children, well done. But this..

Only Alex remained standing strong. Somehow, he understood from Erik's words that the Professor was badly hurt, and he needed to get help fast. He also knew that a hospital would be out of the question, and only Hank knew some first aid but nothing more than that. He turned around and started smiling when he took in the sight of the doctor standing there, perceiving everything. While the other four were still arguing, he walked towards him.

"Hey there, what's your name?" Leon looked at him, hesitating. Alex knew why.

"Please, don't be afraid. We're friends of Charles, and I heard you kept him alive until we came. We all owe you our dedication and gratitude." This seemed to work, 'cause the doctor started to talk.

"I'm.. my name is.. Leon. I took care of Charles, yes. I think.. you should hurry." Alex rose his brow.

"Is he.. in such a bad shape?" Leon nodded slyly.

"He needs real medical attention.. and fast. Otherwise.." Alex moved forward, grabbing both Leon's shoulders in a tight grip.

"Leon.. You know of us. What we can do. It's impossible to get him to a hospital. We don't have that much medical experience. You need to come with us. Please." Leon's eyes grew wide, not expecting this invitation. It felt like a ticket to freedom, a ticket to finally see his wife again and to never return to this place. It felt too good to be true. There needed to be a price to pay, he was sure.

"You.. want me to come with you?"

"Yes.. we want you to come with us so you can take care of Charles. Either way, it's too dangerous for you to stay here. You took care of him and they'll think you helped him escape. They'll kill you, Leon. For sure." The doctor hadn't thought of that for moment. A tremor started to form in his hands.

"But.. I need equipment. Medication. Fluids." Alex's eyes sparkled. _He __did __it!_

"Everything you need, doctor. Everything you need." Leon's confidence returned to him. Still he thought he was going to pay for the fact they helped him get out of this place, but it was worth it. At least he would still be alive. He straightened his back and got ready for the task ahead of him.

"He needs to get out of here. NOW."

Alex only nodded. He turned towards his friends and whistled.

"Come, all of you! Before it's too late. We can bicker at home!" This seemed to get everyone back to reality and Erik was first to respond, almost running towards the exit with Charles still in his hands. They all moved towards the big gate surrounding the bunker, all guards carefully taking care of by Alex and Sean. When they saw one of them lying on the ground, unconscious with his hands next to his ears, Sean and Alex looked at each other and starting smiling. They continued their way into the woods and soon were greeted by the site of the helicopter. They loaded Charles carefully in the back space, followed by the rest of the team. Hank took the pilot's seat and within seconds they were up in the air and on their way home.

Erik didn't leave his side for a second. Alex sat next to Raven, keeping her from coming any closer to Charles. No one said a word. They all prayed.

Prayed their leader would make it.

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><p><strong>What do you think? Will he come out of it alive? If so, will he be the Charles everyone knew? Stay tuned! And please review! Many thanks<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Next chapter! Let me know what you think! :) Thank you all for staying loyal to this story. I was in awe when I saw your wonderful reviews and the tremendous amount of hits the story got after posting the last chapter. Thank you thank you!**

**Enjoy!**

The Waiting

_In the middle of a few days after…_

The X-mansion had never been so quiet since they had first set foot in the enormous castle. From the early morning till the night fell, the house had been filled with noises of mutants training, talking, screaming, playing… loving. Nothing like that was happening now. The mutants were staying in their own bedroom or in the living room, silently sitting and busy with their own thoughts. Nobody trained, nobody even felt like making a decent meal for themselves or the others. Only on a rare occasion, two people started whispering to each other. A short conversation, never long.. always about the same subject. The same question…

_Will he make it? _

After that, the conversation wavered, neither wanted to answer that question.. neither knowing the answer to that question. And so they stayed in silence, thinking about only one person.

_The Professor. _

In one room in the building, quite the opposite was happening. Two people, sometimes three, were walking and flying around in the small place, lost in their own tasks at hand. One was consistently assisting the other person, handing over cloths, needles, fluids, pills. At the end of every day, he cleaned the room thoroughly, giving the air a sweet smell and leaving the objects in the room glittering. From time to time, another person walked in, asking if any help was needed. Usually there wasn't and without any more delay, the third person left again, leaving the others by themselves.

The other person, however, concentrated on only thing during the day… _Saving Charles._

Leon sat next to the Professor for most of the day, monitoring his physical state, changing the amount of fluid or medicine he gave to him. He tried as hard as he could, but it was a difficult task keeping Charles Xavier among the living. He hadn't woken up after remaining unconscious in the Bunker, and hadn't even made an attempt to. On the contrary. Several times the doctor had feared for his life. The burns on his torso and abdomen lit up every once in a while, almost putting the prof in sepsis with his temperature rising, his breaths becoming more swallow and his pulse fastening. The doctor didn't know why he couldn't get the burn marks under control and why his body was reacted so forcefully to it. Of course, the marks were not made by any ordinary object, but by a _mutant. _Who knew what the hands of that Elison guy were able to do more than turn into flames. But after a while full of fear and racing heartbeats, the sepsis vanished again and the burns cooled down. Leon wasn't sure how much of those situations the tiny figure lying in the bed could handle and only prayed it would stop at a certain point. But then again..

He wasn't the one who was frightened the most.

Leon, who had been looking over Charles for the last 30 minutes, watched the other man standing in the room from the corner of his eye. The tall slender guy was sitting on the other end of the room, far away from the bed but just close enough to observe the small form who was almost drowning in the immense king size bed. He felt sorry for Erik, almost as sorry as for Charles. He hadn't had a decent shower since they had returned from their escape, nor did he get more than two hours sleep in a night. He looked like a zombie, as pale as the sheets Charles was lying underneath, as thin as the chair he was sitting on. The doctor knew from experience the metal-bender couldn't keep up with this for much longer, but every attempt to change him didn't reach his ears. Every time he tried, Erik ordered him to stop, to focus on Charles and not on him. That he was fine, not having a scratch. _Besides the huge gash on his temple looking all red and dangerous, _Leon thought. But he did what was best and indeed shut up, letting the other man be. If he didn't want to be helped, the doctor wasn't planning on doing it, and he didn't feel the need to have the discussion about self-sacrificing with him either. He didn't know him and wasn't yet about to, he knew now. But the other mutants had been denied access to the room, in order to keep the room clean from any infection that could possibly hurt the Professor, or even drive him over the edge. So he had been stuck with him for days, seeing his condition declining by the minute. He needed to do something now before it was too late.

Again, Leon took another look at Erik, who wasn't moving an inch, just watching towards the bed with an aphasic glare. He then prepared for the confrontation by taking a long sigh. While not meeting his gaze, the doctor spoke up.

"You know, when you continue doing this to yourself, you won't be here the day Charles wakes up. You won't be able to be here for him."

Erik was roughly pulled out of his miserable thoughts by the other man's words. He had been thinking about the last days… about almost losing Charles for multiple times, for thinking about how he was to blame for all of this. For how badly he wanted his friend to wake up. His best friend. His only friend. But nothing had happened. His condition only got worse, getting affected by the constant burning of the scars spread out on this fragile body. And there was nothing he could do to save him. Nothing. If only Charles would enter his mind and tell him that everything was going to be alright..

Again, he heard himself being spoken to, and with great force he pushed his thoughts aside.

"What?" With watery eyes he turned his head towards the doctor, instantly missing the sight of Charles.

Erik's reaction to his words only confirmed his worries about the man's wellbeing. He felt the anger rising inside his chest.

"Erik.. you're killing yourself, can't you see?" Erik snorted.

"Don't be silly, doc." Leon got frustrated.

"Silly? You think I'm acting silly? Did you even got to take a look at yourself in the mirror since we got back?" Erik was surprised by the doctor's reply.

"No, not really. Why should I?"

"Well, maybe because you look like you rose from the death! You're not eating, you're not sleeping, not cleaning yourself, you're losing weight. You haven't even left this room since we entered it for the first time. This is not right, Erik. You can't continue to do this to yourself any longer."

The last thing Erik needed was a crappy speech about how he should behave, and he wasn't going to listen to it any time longer. Leon scared back a bit when his eyes suddenly shot out a deadly glare.

"I'd like you to focus on saving Charles, doc. I can handle myself, I'm a big boy. I'm not the patient here." Although Leon felt like he was almost crossing the line, he wasn't about the give up yet.

"Soon, you'll also be a patient, I'm sure. You'll faint today or tomorrow because of lack of sleep and food, I can ensure you that." Erik was now truly becoming pissed off.

"Well, I'm sure I won't. So until I do, you can concentrate on someone else. _Charles _for example." His sarcastic tone didn't go unnoticed by Leon.

"How can you be so sure? I'm a doctor, I've seen it lots of times!" The doctor didn't even recognize his own voice anymore, now completely ignoring all alarm bells he was risking his life by screaming to the mutant like this. He swallowed hard when Erik slowly stood up and made his way towards him.

"I can be so sure, because I've been through it. Again. And Again. And Again. I've been tortured with it for so many times. I've been kept awake for so many hours that my eyes were hurting so badly I couldn't see anymore. I've been starved for so long I couldn't think anymore and only wanted to kill myself. But they didn't let me. Instead, they kept me awake a while longer, and starved me a bit more. Only when I was about to die, they let me…" Erik was now towering over Leon, who was regretting his last actions more and more every second that passed.

"Or they played a little game with me first. I then had to earn my food by doing things. Hitting myself for example. Moving metal so it ended up in my face. Or with a whip. Slap after slap after slap. Every slap counted for another minute of sleep. And trust me, it was never a minute longer. I had to eat my own clothes, stand upside down for hours while being tortured…" The picture now forming in Leon's mind was too horrid, and he started begging Erik to stop. But he continued, coming closer and closer towards him, his lips now only an inch away from his right ear.

"He even accomplished it to break both my arms while I was standing upside down, and still I was holding on. You know why? Because I was so angry I couldn't stop. I had something to hold on to. That time, it was the anger and the urge to revenge my mother's death. Now? Now it's saving Charles. I won't do anything until he wakes up and until he'll be alright. So if I were you, I would stop worrying about me, because there's nothing to worry. I can continue this pace a lot longer." Erik stretched out the word ´lot´, emphasizing his statement. Leon could only nodded, too shocked by what he had just heard. It took him almost a minute to recover while Erik kept standing next to him, his eyes already turned towards to steady figure of Charles. The doctor slowly stood up and bowed his head.

"I'm.. I'm sorry. I didn't know you went through that. I shouldn't.. I won't do that again." Without turning his gaze, the metal-bender spoke up.

"Apology accepted. Now take a break. I'll watch him."

"But…"

"I'll watch him. Go. I need to be alone with him." Leon wasn't about to make the same mistake again and nodded.

"Okay. I'll be back in a few hours." With that, he silently made his way towards the exit, leaving the two powerful mutants alone with each other. He took a deep breath when he closed the door behind him. He looked up towards the ceiling as if he was asking for help. He softly whispered…

_For both their sakes… let Charles live. _

**Please review! Stay tuned for more angst! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Finally, another chapter! This story'll be over soon, but not before… Find out! :) **

**Read and review! Many thanks to all my loyal readers and followers. I can't do without you!**

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><p><span>The Chaotic Trail of Thoughts<span>

His mind had never been so chaotic and foggy as it was now. His thoughts drifted back and forth between horrible scenarios and careful moments of hope, although the latter were becoming more rare with every hour that passed. He felt unsure about what to do, how to move, how to handle, but he was sure about staying in this room, by the side of this man till the moment the man either woke up or he dropped dead himself. He had completely abandoned all but his own when he witnessed his mother die right before his eyes. Died because of him. Even though he was young and ignorant at the time, he had promised himself never to care about anyone from that moment on, either for his sake as the ones he would've let in. He had succeeded for so long. His life had never felt empty or lonely because he had blocked out all other emotions but the filling feeling of _revenge._

Until he met him.

It was unfair really, to intervene a life so abruptly and with so many consequences. As secure he had been before that dreadful moment under the waves of the angry black sea, as insecure he had become afterwards. He had fought the urge to listen to the neat, almost silly looking professor, if only it was to annoy him, but he had failed time and again. He simply couldn't deny the influence he had on him, almost as strong as the only love he had ever felt. Standing in this room, watching the mentioned losing his battle to survive in a too big a bed, he now knew why he hadn't been able to resist it.

Because he had been right all along.

Right about everything, always. It was even more painful that only now he could see that picture, when it was already too late. When the man who was always right, sacrificed himself for the man who'd never listen.

The sacrifice.

He had never sacrificed anything, for anyone. He hadn't sacrificed his life for the sake of his mother no matter how badly he wanted to, hadn't sacrificed his own will for the people he unwillingly had started to care for. He never even sacrificed a dime to give it to some homeless guy. Because in his eyes, none of them had deserved it. Because he was the only one who had been living in a nightmare, and his mind was blind for the horrible pasts of the others. As if a little man inside his head was permanently screaming at him. _They will only be standing in your way. Don't care. Do as you want. _The little man in his head had been right. They all were standing in the way. One in particular. Literally standing in the way. In the way of letting him make the worst mistake in his life.

If only he had let them.

His thoughts, popping up in his mind at random, at once disappearing only to make room for more disturbing ones, drove him closer to the edge of insanity. His vision was blurred by the lack of blinking with his eyes, his knees trembling because of the lack of rest and his head spinning because of the growing lack of sleep. The spinning made him dizzy and nauseous, and he closed his eyes in order to temporarily numb the feelings. Numb the physiological pain, worse than any physical pain he had ever felt.

When he opened his bloodshot eyes after a little while, he was almost disappointed by seeing that the sight before him hadn't changed. The small contours of the Professor's face were still almost unrecognizable upon the clear white pillows it was propped up, and the collarbones which were partly disappearing underneath the sheets were looking angry and about the pop through the thin layer of skin only just covering them.

With a deep sigh, Erik let himself carefully drop on the side of the bed, far away from the other man so he wouldn't be able to hurt him. He laid his hand to rest on the sheets, his index finger absentmindedly brushing the top of Charles' hand while he watched the mutant's struggle to come out of his coma. Charles's brow furrowed from time to time which caused wrinkles to appear on his forehead, and Erik noticed that it took longer and longer for the wrinkles to disappear when the Professor's face finally relaxed again. He took another sigh. Even if he would survive this, Charles'd be a broken man, miserable and in pain for the rest of his life, looking much older than his real age. He'd be unable to enjoy life, pain blocking any positive feeling he'd try to have. If he'd be able to think straight ever again. Maybe his mind had been through too long of a time without oxygen and he would wake up an imbecile. Or a vegetable. Either way, his life would be a living hell.

Still, it was all Erik would wish for. Give his life for.

The metal-bender cursed silently through his teeth. The part of being useless was definitely to worst part. The hand not touching Charles balled into a fist, and Erik closed his eyes so hard that it hurt him. He just couldn't stand it. He could do nothing but watch while his best friend was being torn from the inside out, and he was losing the battle in his head time after time. It was killing him, so slowly and so painful that everything else in the world was minor to him. Nothing had meaning anymore. Everything was all but a big blur surrounding that one sharp object in the center of it all.

_Damn it Charles! _

The anger rising inside his chest made Erik tremble, and soon violent tremors cursed through his body. His hand, first so carefully hovering over Charles', was now squeezing the other one so hard that the bones were about to break. Erik felt his temperature rising and his body jerking more violently but it was too late to fight it. Too late to restrain himself.

_Wake up!_

His pleas felt to deaf ears. Charles remained motionless, unaware of the explosion that was approaching. The last bit. The final straw. Erik violently shook his head while he quickly pulled his hand back before it was causing the Professor even more pain. Instead of Charles´ hand, the metal-bender grabbed the sheets and mangled it hard. It was too much. The pain and despair radiating from the useless body of the mind-reader and his own pain caused him to take the last step towards insanity. Erik bowed his head, not fighting it anymore. The cursing through his teeth increased, unrecognizable sounds leaving his mouth. His face became red and hot, the cool stream of water running down his cheeks a cool and welcome offer. It was all so horribly unfair. Unfair for Charles, unfair for the kids in this house, even unfair for him. Who wouldn't lose his mind under these circumstances?

The sheets ripped to pieces and the house shook on its foundations when Erik let out an ear-deafening scream.

_NOOO!_

Seconds later, loud stumbles were heard on the stairs. Five pair of feet ran upstairs as fast as their bodies were allowing them, the house continuing to shake. With a loud bang, the door towards the Professor's room flew open, five sets of eyes looking nervously and scared. All took in the sight before them.

Their once so tough looking partner of their leader was now kneeling on the floor, his skinny form looking even more fragile next to the enormous bed in the middle of the room. A large part of fabric was lying next to him, torn from the white sheets of the bed. The pants he were wearing were partly wet from where the tears had left his reddened and angry face. The bones in his slender face were even more visible than they were used to, his ribs countable through his thin black shirt.

They were jolted awake when Erik started screaming again, his fists now banging on the floor beneath him. Leon was the first one to recover from the shock, and he quickly ran towards the mutant on the floor. He kneeled down beside him and tried to sooth him when he reached out towards him. The moment the doctor touched his bony shoulder, the metal-bender came to life and lurched himself towards him.

_NOOO!_

The scream came out less loud this time but it didn't miss its force. The doctor could only watch in shock when Erik threw him on the floor. His life flashed past by him when the mutant crawled on top of him and his angry looking hands reached towards his neck, squeezing the air right out of him. Leon vaguely heard the others screaming, asking the mutant to stop, but he didn't register the scene around him. All he could see were those eyes lingering above him. Two small black eyes piercing through him while big bags underneath them showed the unhealthy state the man on top of him was residing in. The doctor didn't even reach towards the mutant's hands when his vision started to blur. Those eyes shot out all that he had suffered. Erik's life had been a living hell since the day the Jews had been cursed. The camps, his mother, his torture, hunting and being hunted, the betrayal of the human people, the search for Charles, the pain of the uncertainty. All the metal-bender had known, were pain and suffering. The sun had never a chance to reach him, he had always been living in the shadows. The life that should be the one of a criminal, a murderer, a monster.. not for a human being like Erik Lensherr.

His eyes were still fixed on those eyes with shock when he vision suddenly became clear again. Leon gulped in a mouthful of air when the eyes abruptly disappeared from his sight, the weight being pulled off of him. When he retrieved himself again, he saw that Hank and Alex were holding Erik tightly, both of him pulling back one of his arms. Raven blocked his view when she walked in front of the mutant and grabbed his head with her hands. He heard her screaming to him, pleading him to snap out of it, to stop. It didn't work. The doctor stood up and again met the gaze of the man who only seconds ago was trying to murder him. Leon surprisingly didn't care. His death wouldn't make up for all the suffering Erik had been through.

Somehow, his stare had its effect, and finally Erik stopped resisting, the look in his eyes becoming empty. He had now completely lost the fight. None of it'd matter anymore. It was lost. He bent his head and Leon walked up towards him. Raven took a step aside and now his was standing in front of the defeated mutant with a feeling of defeat as well. He mentioned to Hank and Alex.

"Let go of him." Alex started to protest.

"But.." His own strong voice took Leon by surprise.

"Let go of him!" Both did as they were told and saw that Erik wasn't resisting anymore.

"I'm… sorry.." Leon was just in time to catch the mutant underneath his armpits before he collapsed to the ground. He was in an uncomfortable position now, Erik's weight now completely hanging on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry…" From the corner of his eyes, the doctor saw four pair of shocked eyes taking in the scene in front of them, too confused to understand any of it. Leon did though. He completely understood.

He softly patted Erik's back while he caressed him like a crying baby.

"Ssst, Erik. It's okay. It'll be okay." The doctor kept whispering soothing words to him while the mutant kept apologizing. The quiet in the room returned while all of them were trying to take in what just happened.

All of a sudden, a scream was heard. They all roughly looked towards the source of the sound. Raven was standing next to the bedside, her eyes filled with tears. Again, she screamed while she pointed towards the bed. They followed her outstretched arm and found out why she had started to scream. They stopped dead in their tracks.

Their mouths dropped open when they saw two big blue eyes staring straight towards them.

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><p><strong>And, did you like it? What do you think will happen next? Please share your thoughts with me :)<strong>

**NB. There's something I'd really like to do, and that's co-writing a story with someone. I don't care much about the topic or the length, as long as we can bundle our fantasies and skills to form the perfect story. So if you're interested in writing a story with me, please let me know! **


	15. Chapter 15

**The inspiration for this story returned and so here's the next chapter. Step by step, we're getting closer to finding out what'll happen to our beloved mutants. **

**Enjoy and don't forget to review!**

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><p><span>The Miracle<span>

Leon was the first one to recover. Of course, he had been through a lifetime full of misery with Charles already, even though he had only known him for some weeks, but his doctor's instinct took over and his trail of emotions was sidetracked. He finally snapped out of it and his eyes were no longer staring towards the enormous bed wherein not more than a minute ago a miracle had occurred. While they all had been arguing with each other, Raven suddenly had screamed while pointing towards the figure lying in the bed.

Charles Xavier had opened his eyes.

Two large blue and clear eyes belonging to the Professor had been staring towards them like they had been witnessing them for hours. They all had just stared at him with pure horror and disbelief evident in all of their eyes, but unfortunately before any of them had time to react Charles had already closed his eyes again. He suddenly looked like nothing had ever happened, lying still in his bed with his chest going up and down in a slow but rhythmic way. It was indeed like nothing had changed, and most of them began doubting that what they had witnessed only seconds ago.

Was it for real?

Leon had finally understood that _if _he did want to find out what had happened and if it had been true, he needed to act fast. His mind became viciously clear again and he began barking orders to the rest of the people inside the room.

"All of you, leave the room immediately! I need to find out what happened and I need to do it alone."

None of them moved an inch, not even to close their mouths.

"Bu.. wha… did he just opened his eyes? So the Professor is not.. dddead?" Alex could only stutter while his gaze was still fixed on the Professor. Leon saw that his words didn't have impact yet and so he moved to his next strategy.

"IF you all want him to wake up again, you should leave _now!_ There's a big chance he won't wake up with all of you around, because you bring him too much stress. So please, for Charles' sake, leave me alone with him." The doctor's words hit the right nerve in Raven because she finally snapped out of her trance and looked towards him instead.

"You think he can wake up when there're less people around?" Leon saw the stains on the girl's cheeks where the tears had been streaming down. Although he felt sorry for her, he needed the peace and quiet in the room when he examined Charles more closely. And so he nodded slowly.

"Yes, maybe. It's the best chance we have." The blue mutant understood and she began walking towards the door, pushing the others with her in the meanwhile. When she passed by Erik, her hand ever so softly touched his arm. A shiver ran down Leon's spine. The gesture was so small, but was so full of emotions. With that short touch, she showed Erik how much she had been through, how much they have been through, and that the agony he felt was shared by her. She felt the same bond with Charles, the same connection, and losing him was equal to losing her own life. But the touch also let the metal bender know that no matter what'd happen, they still had each other and that their bond would survive it. Together.

Leon held his breath as to what'd happen next. Would he…? He let out an inaudible sigh of relief when he saw Erik's answer. His hand found its way towards hers, and with their touch, he confirmed that their mutant bond would stay strong through all of this. Because they had each other. Because it was in their blood.

The doctor saw a single tear leaving her left eye when Raven finally closed the door behind her.

He carefully looked in Erik's direction and if though the mutant felt his glare, he raised his head and looked him straight in the eye.

"I won't be in your way. Do what you must. But I'm not going to leave this room."

Not that the thought of Erik leaving had crossed his mind for a single moment. He therefore only nodded and closed the distance between him and the bed. He carefully suited himself on it, trying to disturb Charles as less as possible. He grabbed the stethoscope out of his pocket and held it against Charles' chest. He felt that the burns on his chest weren't that hot anymore and he dared to push the instrument a little harder against his thorax to pick up the sound of his heart.

_Bump. Bump. Bump. _

Rhythmic. Steady. Easy. His heartbeat hadn't been this normal since Leon first listened to it back at the Bunker. His own heart skipped a beat when he carefully explored the rest of his torso. His breathing was still a bit slow and superficial, but it was steady as well. No abnormalities. All like the Professor was just having a peaceful dream.

He plugged the stethoscope out of his ears when he felt the anxious gaze of the mutant behind him upon his back.

"He seems alright." The deep sigh of relief filled the quiet room. He finally dared to look into the direction the sound had come from. Their eyes soon met and now it was the doctor's turn to take a deep breath. This was going to be the hardest part.

"I think it's time to wake him up now." The look of the other man turned into one filled with shock.

"If he does wake up, he needs to see somehow he knows well. There's a chance he won't remember all of what had happened to him, that he'll suffer from short term memory loss. He may not remember me. But he'll remember you, Erik. He'd want to see you." The words didn't miss its aim. While Erik pushed back tears, he made his way towards the other side of the bed and sat down, grabbing Charles' right hand into both of his'. He then looked up at Leon.

"I'm ready." Leon only nodded.

"I know you are." His heart again made strange jumps when his arm reached towards Charles' and began gently hustling him, careful not to hurt him.

"Charles.. Charles, can you hear me? Would you open your eyes for me?"

No response.

"It's me, Leon. I've been looking out for you while you were asleep. Could you wake up now?"

Still no response but Leon wasn't about to give up.

"I'm not alone, you know. If you concentrate real hard on your right hand, you can feel someone's holding it."

Both men held their breath when they were waiting for a response from Charles, but still nothing came.

"The one holding your right hand is Erik. Erik Lensherr. He came for you, Charles. He saved you."

Erik suddenly gasped when he felt a light squeeze in his hand. The reaction strengthened Leon to go on.

"He risked his own life to save yours. He's not going to leave you, but he'd like you to wake up now. We both like you to wake up."

Another squeeze. Erik looked up at the doctor, completely unsure about what to do. Leon nodded once. This was enough for the metal bender to gently free one of his hands out of Charles' grip and move it towards the Professor's face. He stroke his cheek a couple of times before his voice found the strength the speak up.

"Charles, it's me. My friend, I've been waiting for so long. I need you to wake up so I can tell you how terribly sorry I am. I made the greatest mistake and you paid so dearly for it. Please open your eyes. I promise you, you'll never be alone again. I won't ever leave you. I promise with all my heart that I have changed, changed so I can see everything very clear now. You were right all along of course and I had been too blind to see and too deaf to hear. But now my eyes and ears have been opened and I see the greater cause. I see you, Charles, and only you. Just please… wake up. Wake up and fight."

Tears were now freely streaming down Erik's face and Leon saw he wasn't ashamed at all to show them. On the contrary, he was proud. Proud to show his emotions to them whom deserved them. Charles was one of them. Probably the only one.

And there it was. That one moment all of them had been waiting for. Hoping for. It felt as the clouds had finally broken, the rain finally stopped to make way for the sun to shine her light over them, to show the beginning of a whole new life. It felt like color returned on Erik's face, and a smile broke through his red-rimmed worn out face.

It couldn't be more beautiful in his eyes. Leon witnessed a single moment of pure happiness when two large blue eyes opened themselves and found their way towards two tired but fierce green ones.

A voice, harsh from the weeks of nonuse, filled the room like it had never been away while a small smile appeared on his face.

"Erik."

The owner of the green eyes broke down a happy man.

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><p><strong>Not the longest chapter I've written, but one of the most angsty ones. Still, there're more questions to be answered. How will Charles wake up from his coma? Will he be able to forgive Erik? To use his legs? And most important of all.. will he get his ability back? Let me know what you think!<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**Update! :) Please enjoy and don't forget to review! Thanks to all my loyal and new followers, you're great!**

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><p><span>The Undeniable Truth<span>

After that perfect moment happening in front of him, the realization began sinking in. Although he secretly thought he'd never see Charles open his eyes again, the fact that he had only changed his situation by a small fraction. It was a huge step to wake up from such a deep coma, but that didn't take away the mutant still had so much to overcome before he could dream again of a life he had before he had been taking away from that beach. While still observing the beautiful interaction between the two mutants, Leon mentally made a list of what the mutant lying in the bed had sustained in the last couple of weeks.

Paralysis, at least partial, although a complete paralysis was still a possibility. Only with months and months of training, enduring hours of pain and defeat over and over again, he'd have a small hope to get a part of his leg function back.  
>Excruciating pain in his lower back from where the bullet had hit so many nerves. He had no idea how that would turn out.<br>The burn marks, made by Elison, that left most of his chest and abdomen covered in red, angry looking marks that contracted the skin underneath. The marks meant many months of pain at least until they'd slowly become scars. With some luck, the contraction would eventually die down leaving him with latent pain at the most, but the pain would always be there no matter what'd happen.  
>The weeks of high doses of sedatives and painkillers would also have its effects on his body, and it could still take days till weeks until he recovered from that. Not to mention that he had probably completely lost his sensibility to sedatives and painkillers, which meant that only levels near fatal would have some effect on him. He had to do without them, meaning more pain.<br>Like all of this wasn't enough, the fact that Charles was completely malnourished because he hadn't been eating for weeks while the only food, that had entered his body in the form of parenteral food, hadn't probably been enough to feed a mouse. Only if he'd somehow manage to eat the amount of food his body was needing right now, he could think of the word _recover_.

But that wasn't all of it. Never would Leon forget the hours of screams and the abuse Charles' body had been through after Elison had emptied the content of that syringe inside him.

He had taken away his ability. His strength. Now, Charles Xavier was just an ordinary man whom had been through an extraordinary cruel ordeal, that should be enough to put a normal human being six feet under.

How on earth could he recover from all of that?

His diagnostic analysis was rudely interrupted by a strong hand that wrapped itself around his shoulder and jolted him till Leon finally looked up at the person responsible for it.

Two terrified looking orbs where sending pleas to him. Erik mentioned towards Charles while he spoke.

"Doc, look at him! What's happening to him?" Leon followed Erik's gaze and saw the Professor panting hard with his eyes shut tight. Droplets of sweat were forming on his temples indicating he was developing a favour. He felt his pulse and found a rapid but steady beat. The burns on his chest radiated heat and became even redder while Charles' face became paler than his sheet.

Leon bowed his head and sighed deep.

_High amount of sedatives and painkillers. Not sensible for them anymore_.

Leon didn't acknowledge the rising anxiety of the mutant sitting next to him until he jolted him again.

"What's wrong, Doc? Tell me what's wrong!"

"He's in a lot of pain."

"Then do something about it! You can give him something, right?" He shook his head.

"Why not?" Panic was evident in Erik's voice.

It was a mere whisper when he spoke.

"I can't because he's gotten too much painkillers and sedatives during his captivity. They made me give him useless high amounts of them for weeks."

"But.. why?" It was clear that Erik didn't yet understood. Leon looked at him when he continued.

"They gave too much and too many the first period, while he wasn't in need for them at all actually. They did that so.." Leon couldn't get rid of the lump in his throat when his look switched from the panic filled mutant sitting opposite of him and the mutant lying in between them who was in horrible pain while he couldn't do anything about it. He felt the tears forming in his eyes, his first tears since he got here.

There was nothing he could do. He was useless. Erik kept jolting him to make Leon answering him.

"So what, Doc? Tell me why you can't help him!" The doctor finally let out the final explanation.

"So he won't react to the medicine anymore in times he'd need them the most. Only levels that'd kill him could lessen the pain, the rest would be useless to give. Same goes for the sedatives. We can't give him anything. We can't do anything but to watch him endure the pain."

Leon didn't dare to look when his words finally were understood by Erik.

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><p>Leon was expecting Erik to hit him, or start screaming, or just stare at him in pure shock, but the mutant surprised him once more. After realization had hit him, Erik suddenly jumped of the bed and began preparing all sort of things. He grabbed a bowl out of one of the cupboards and began filling it with cold water while searching for a washcloth and some towels. He placed them in front of Leon and ordered him to start dabbing Charles' forehead while he continued his search. He came back with a glass of water with a straw in it and another pillow. He carefully placed the pillow underneath Charles' head before he started speaking to him.<p>

"Charles, I know it hurts but you have to listen to me okay. Can you do that?" Charles' condition hadn't changed and with his eyes still closed shut, he gave a small nod followed by a soft moan.

Erik grabbed his friend's head in his hands and closed the distance between them.

"Please, open your eyes for me." Charles' eyelids opened just enough to show two small dots appearing. Erik smiled.

"Hey there. It's too dangerous for you to give you any medication now, so we can't ease your pain. We'll stay with you the whole way, you understand? We won't leave you. Just stay with me. It won't take long before the pain will subside." Erik shot an angry glare towards Leon. _Don't you dare object. _Leon found it to be the wisest to keep his mouth shut.

"Now drink." Charles' head was being pushed forward by Erik and he managed to take a small sip before the pain overtook him again.

And so they were sitting there, on the bed, dabbing Charles' forehead, making him drink water, soothing words the only way to ease the pain. They both wished for the pain to end fast, either because it subsided or because Charles would fall back asleep. It didn't happen. Seconds, minutes passed by while the Professor kept struggling against it. It was unbearable to witness. Neither men spoke a word while Charles went through the ordeal. Finally, finally after 55 minutes, Charles had spent all his energy fighting it and gave in to a troublesome sleep. Both men let out a deep sigh almost simultaneously and stayed where they were for another while.

Leon was the first one to speak again when he lay down the fourth washcloth he had used in the last hour.

"I'll go inform the others." The other voice took him by surprise when he stood up.

"Sit. Down." Leon immediately obliged, suddenly afraid of what would come next. The poisonous look Erik gave him almost made him fall backwards of the bed.

"Now. You'll start telling me anything else I need to know. Right. Now." The doctor swallowed hard.

"I.. wh.." Erik didn't look away.

"I'm losing my patience here, Doc. You haven't told me all of it and I have a right to know." Leon didn't know where to begin.

"Speak up _now!"_

"He.. he endured horrible things. Things a normal human being probably wouldn't survive." Erik groaned.

"What kind of things? Tell me all of it."

"Well, there're the sedatives and painkillers."

"Things I don't know yet, please."

"He almost didn't eat anything for three weeks." Erik didn't react, so Leon continued his summary.

"He wasn't able to move for that period. He.. got tortured by Elison..the.. the burn marks on his chest are his doing." Erik's mood darkened even more when he only nodded for him to go on.

"They took… away… his power." Erik sighed.

"Charles told me that part, yes, but I was hoping it wasn't true."

"It is."

"How did they do it?"

"With a syringe. They first gave him adrenaline to wake him up and strengthen his power so Elison could see for himself the effect the other syringe had on him. He injected the liquid in his arm and after a minute or so, Charles started convulsing almost non-stop. Elison came outside with a huge grin plastered on his face." Erik gave an angry snarl.

"That filthy bast… Do you know what they gave him? Will it be… permanent?" Leon shook his head.

"I don't know. I really don't. I only know they hadn't tested it on anyone else before, it was something they just finished preparing. It may come back.. it may not."

"How gladly I'd like to kill them all!" There was a moment of silence when Erik was processing all that Leon had said to him while the doctor was saying a prayer that the metal bender wouldn't continue asking. His heart sank when his prayer wasn't heard.

"What else, Leon?" He wasn't sure what to do. If he'd tell him, Erik might freak out and hurt one of them. If he didn't and he'd find out later.. he could probably start digging his grave by now. Suddenly, Erik's hands grabbed him by his shirt while the mutant's face came dangerously close to his'.

"Tell me, or I'll dismiss you of your services and push you out of the window. Or worse." A fearful Leon watched the metal bender before him and knew he had no choice. He heard his voice tremble and feared for his life when his answer came.

"A bullet in his back made him paralyzed from the waist down."

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><p><strong>So, Erik knows. All of it. What will his reaction be? But most of all.. will Charles be okay? Find out in the next chapter! <strong>


	17. Chapter 17

**I won't even start apologizing about the time it took me to continue with this story and write this chapter, and it isn't nearly as perfect as I would've hoped, but still I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless. All I can say is, inspiration and motivation are precious and strange things you can't control..**

**R&R please!**

The Long Wait

Anyone who didn't know any better would say the X-Mansion looked like every other house they would come across. From the outside, the enormous house stood as a stately and beautiful home, proud keeper of several ordinary people. Even from the inside it almost looked normal. Everything appeared quiet and calm, like a normal day on the countryside. The only difference with a couple of months ago seemed the amount of people living in the house which had multiplied by a couple of times with mostly young people knocking on the door to gain a place in the safe harbor that was the Mansion. Of course, much more was going on at the Mansion than anyone could ever guess..

At first, the habitants of the house were reluctant to take in the first unknown mutant that stepped into it. The boy hadn't found the house on his own, but had been attracted by the quite striking appearance of the transformed Hank when the Beast had finally found the courage to take a walk outside the safe property of his new home. The boy, called Steven, had followed him, finding in Hank the rescue he had been waiting for, for such a long time. When he stepped into the living room just minutes after the Beast had, he suddenly stood face to face with a group of extraordinary people. Alex immediately wanted to jump at him but Raven stopped him. Steven, looking not much older than 12 years, then told his story, not so much with words as with his ability. He pointed his finger towards an old arm chair and before anyone could guess what could come, the chair went flying through the air and through the window. After a minute, the noise brought forth another sound from upstairs and for a moment, everyone in the living room held his or her breath for the person who was the cause of the noise. Raven and Hank quickly shared a look, and although Hank sincerely looked frightened Raven knew better than to be just that. She knew the person would never hurt anyone of them, even though his gesture and words would sometimes hint otherwise. She was certain he would actually do everything in his power to prevent them from getting hurt, but that notion was easily forgotten by the rest of them whenever he showed himself.

As skinny as he had been just 3 months ago, as strong and powerful he looked right now. It was clear that in his spare time, meaning whenever the Professor was asleep or resting, he worked out as much as possible, improved his nutritional state and took as much rest as needed to compensate for the weight and muscle loss in the past time to increase his strength again. Soon, his body turned from a mere skeleton to a well-trained athlete, the bags under his eyes vanished while his skin even held a slight tan from the glimpses of sunlight he tried to get from time to time. In Raven's opinion, he looked even more handsome than the first time she laid eyes on him.

Now he stood before them, his body covered with a dark green turtleneck and fitted jeans. He didn't say anything at first, just looked around to look at each and every one of them before finally laying eyes on Steven. They expected an outrage, a speech or at least an angry stare, something he did normally when he'd come downstairs, but he did none of that. Instead, Erik Lensherr mentioned towards another an arm chair and smiled a genuine smile.

"Please, sit down." Alex, Sean, Hank and Raven simply kept staring while Steven did what he was told, unknowing about the strange situation he had found himself in. Erik slowly walked towards him while inspecting the damage of the window and the missing arm chair. He rested himself against the edge of the table that stood right in front of the chair Steven was now sitting in. He crossed his arms and smiled another time while curiosity got the better of the rest of the group and they slowly stepped closer to the rare sight that was about to unfold.

"So, could you tell me again how you did that?" Erik eyed towards the broken window. Little Steven already started to raise his finger in the air, pointing towards one of the Professor's favorite antiques when Erik stopped him midair.

"Okay, okay, you can stop there, we don't want to refurnish the whole living room at once, do we?" Steven chuckled nervously and lowered his finger again.

Erik crouched down till he was at eye level with Steven. "Why did you come here? What made you run away from the place you came from?" Three mutants's mouths fell open by surprise of the sweet and careful words of the normally harsh man, while one female mutant only smiled. Steven looked down, too scared to look into Erik's eyes, and began to whisper.

"My brothers have bullied me from the moment I can remember. They hit me, threw me into walls, broke things.. My parents were never there, father also working, mother too busy raising the two sons whom seem most important to her. She didn't care what they did to me, and I never knew why. That until a month ago, when my brothers were hitting me again, trying to get me angry or crying. When they started cutting my hair with some scissors, I saw my mother looking at us and I saw her actually smiling. And then I just snapped. Threw my oldest brother flying to the room with help of only one finger, while the scissors came flying after him and landed in his leg. My other brother was too scared and shocked to do anything, so I escaped his grip and their stares and just ran. I didn't stop running until I was too hungry and too tired, and sick from the water I drank of the pools on the streets. Then I saw the blue man and thought that maybe he was a bit like me. Thought he could help me.." Steven now clearly trembled, sobbing silently while he kept staring to his hands.

No one spoke, but instead they took the haunted boy in while they all thought about their own troubled past. They all had a story like the boy's, some worse, some better than him, but they all had ended up hated and abandoned by the people they cared about the most. And they all knew how it felt to be scared and lonely. Steven had been hurt his whole life since the moment he could remember and when he ran away, he had suffered from hunger, loneliness and illness. Hurt, just like them, either one way or the other. So when Erik spoke his next words, their relief was enormous.

"You are a brave boy, Steven, a very brave boy. You were right to follow the 'blue man', because you are safe here. No one can hurt you anymore." He carefully took the tiny trembling hands into his own, trying his best not to scare the boy any further. At first, the touch made Steven jump up his chair a little, but when nothing happened, just the soft touch on his hands, he finally dared to look the man in front of him in his eyes. The green eyes looking back at him were filled with warmth and empathy and Steven knew the man was telling the truth. At last, he showed a little smile.

"There you go, don't be afraid. You can stay here, we'll take care of you. We've actually been expecting you." Erik gave the boy a quick wink.

"We.. we.. we were?" Alex could only stammer out the words, too shocked at what he just heard and say. Erik turned around to address the adolescent while never letting go of Steven's hands. He gave a mysterious smile before answering.

"Yes, we were, Alex, yes we were." He turned around again.

"Well then, what's your name?" Steven muttered his name.

"Hello Steven, welcome to the X-Mansion. My name is Erik, and here you see Raven, Alex and Sean." Erik pointed at the mutants one by one and they all said their hellos. He lingered a moment before he came to Hank.

"And this blue man is actually called Hank. I guess he saved your life, or you your own. You were right, we're all a little different just like you. We can't all push heavy furniture through windows with our finger, but we can all do something special. And we have to respect each other for that and find a way to live with it. Be welcome and feel at home. We'll find you a nice cozy room for you to sleep in while we'll make you some food. Tomorrow we'll think about what to do with you, but right now you need to eat and rest." At the mention of food, Steven's eyes grew wide while he unconsciously started licking his lips.

"Hank, could you take Steven to the kitchen to find something to eat." The Beast nodded and reached out a hand to the little boy. He gladly took it, his fear completely forgotten with only the idea of food and water filling his troubled mind. Erik stood up, watching the two leave with his hands in his pockets. When both were out of sight, three pair of eyes turned towards him.

"So, what did you mean by '_we've actually been expecting you'_? How could you've known?" Magneto stared back at him, his expression now far less amiable than before.

"You do know you always ask too many questions, don't you?" Alex just crossed his arms, looking fierce while in fact he was trying hard to fight the fear that was again creeping up when he remembered whom he was talking to.

"And how'd you know? You're never here, are you? You're only upstairs, locked up in the Professor's room. You know nothing of me, nothing of all of us."

"Alex!" Sean hissed at his friend, not yet ready to start fighting with the heated Magneto once again. Truthfully, he had lost count of the amount of times one of them had fought with their 'leader', as Raven always like to call him. Somehow, the moments he was not sitting next to the Professor's bed and came downstairs to check up on them, he always managed to scold at one of them at the least. It was either the mess they had presumably made, the noise that had caused the Professor to wake up in pain, or just probably because he could. Why he had changed for the worse when their actual leader had woken up which sounded like a good thing to them, no one knew. But he had, and even Mystique or Hank hadn't been able to talk him out of it. So why Alex was now trying so hard to start a fight again, Sean wasn't sure but he wasn't planning on getting it that far.

However, before Sean wanted to assure Alex wasn't pushing it any further, he was taken aback by the surprised answer of the cause of their fear itself.

"You're right, Alex. I haven't been there for you when you needed somebody and whenever I was, I was a monster to you. I know that now, and I'm sorry for that. I truly am." Alex thought of a witty comment, but instead his mouth just fell open.

"I've been a mess, too absorbed by my own problems. While in fact, my problems are your problems as well. I forbid you to come to his room while you care for him just as much as I do, I know that. I just couldn't think straight anymore because of.. of the pain and guilt I felt. It was wrong of me."

"It was. You've made our lives a living hell since the Professor woke up. It wasn't fair to take it out on us."

"God, Alex, can't you stop pushing it?! He said he's sorry, isn't that enough?" Raven couldn't help but feel annoyed by Alex's comments. Of course, Erik had been very unkind and angry with them for a long time without any good reason, but still, she understood why and felt sorry for him. She knew he loved her brother as a brother too, so automatically Erik became her brother as well. Or maybe even more, she didn't know, but she couldn't stop feeling the hurt that radiating off the metal bender. She wasn't planning on letting Alex hurt him anymore than he already had.

"How can you stick up for this guy, Raven? How can you? Can't you see he doesn't care about us, doesn't care if we live or die?"

"Stop it, Alex!"

"No, Mystique, let him talk. I deserve it. He's maybe even right." At that, Raven turned to look at him with wide eyes.

"What do you mean, he's right? You think you don't care about us?" Erik quickly bowed his head.

"What I mean is.."

"What you mean is that we can drop dead here in front of you without you even feeling a thing? You honestly can't mean that, because I know it isn't true. I just know.." With one quick stride, Erik was in front of Raven, grabbing her arms tight but caring.

"That is _not _what I mean, Raven. What I mean by saying he's right is that I have been treating you like I don't care about you, but I do. I _do _care. I was just too busy with Charles and.." Raven's watery eyes shot him a wary look.

"And..?"

"And myself, yes. I was too busy with myself, trying to keep you from talking to him, to see him like that, to…" Raven didn't miss the glistering in Erik's eyes as well while he slowly let go of her arms.

"You also had the right to be with him, to help him recover and accompany him. I didn't have the right to withhold you from that right. I sincerely apologize." This time, no one answered but just stared at him, taking in the true meaning of his words.

"If he doesn't stop eating soon, the boy will explode. I don't want to clean up that mess.. wow, what's with the tense here?" Hank stepped into the living room, seeing the defeated posture of Magneto while his three friends just stared at the man dumbfounded. When no one answered, Hank walked towards them and tried again.

"What did I miss, guys? Something the matter? Something with the Professor?"

"Charles is.. just the same, Hank. He's drifting in and out of consciousness, running a fever half the day while only half of the food we're giving him seems to stay inside him. Even though, he does seem to improve. That's what I actually came down for to talk to you about. Could you all please sit down?"

They hesitantly did as they were told while Sean quickly brought Hank up to speed.

"He apologized for being such a prick of late." Hank almost fell off the couch again when Sean whispered into his ear. He mouthed to him '_he did what?!'_, but before Sean could answer, Erik spoke up.

"Like I said to that little boy that just entered our lives, we've been expecting him."

"Yeah, how did you know that?" Alex seemed to momentarily have forgotten about their fight and was all ears for the solution of that mystery.

"I should better say, _Charles _has been expecting him. Although he's not completely in the here and now most of the time, whenever he is he talks about stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Well, it's mostly incomprehensible, but more and more his mind is really clear and he asks about you, and what day and time it is, and what we have been doing with our time in between."

They all thought the same thing at once. _What have they've been doing with their time the last months?_

"Anyway, this morning he was lucid again and instead of talking small talk, he suddenly said '_someone's coming, I can hear it'._" Magneto didn't mention the part about him breaking down in tears of happiness because it could only mean his ability wasn't completely lost, a small detail he forgot to mention to the four mutants in front of him. He quickly swallowed away the lump that was forming in his throat.

"I asked him what he meant and he said that someone was coming and that he was in need of help. That he was like us and that he needed to be safe, safe with us."

A '_wow'_ came in unison.

"Then I heard the noise downstairs, and it could've only meant one thing."

"So Charles can hear minds again?! That means he's really getting better, isn't he?" Erik only smiled at the tear stained eyes of Raven, the Professor's little sister.

"I sincerely hope so, Raven, I sincerely hope so. But it wasn't the only thing he had said." Magneto deliberately took a small pause before continuing, to prepare them of what's to come.

"He also said, that the boy isn't going to be the only one coming here to find a safe place to stay. More will follow, first one by one, then more and more when the tale spreads."

"But.. how does he know?"

"He hears them, feels them being close. I don't know actually, nor will we ever know, probably. The thing is, we need to do something about it." Alex was beginning to become defiant once more.

"You mean, you don't want them to come here?"

"Oh, it really doesn't matter much what I want now, it matters what Charles wants. It's his house, his mansion, I have no say in what he wants with it. But he does, and he knows exactly what he wants."

"Well.. what is it?" Hank could barely handle the tension of all the revelations and their consequences for them as a group.

"He wants to teach them. Teach them how to control their powers, how to put it to their advantage, how to start living with it. When they're young like Steven, they need education. When they're older like you, they need to be trained to stand up for themselves so they can defend their selves in times of danger."

"He wants to change the X-Mansion into a school, and you are the ones going to do that."

They all stared at him in disbelief.

"We?"

"Yes, you. You are more than capable of it."

"What about you?" Raven almost didn't dare ask the question.

"Until Charles is fully recovered, I'll stay and help you. Guide you. We'll try to turn this oversized house into a school and refuge of mutants all over the world. Although I'm not yet believing in his plan, I owe Charles at least this much. We'll start making a plan tomorrow."

With that, Magneto slowly got up and started walking towards the door, ready to take in his place next to Charles' bed again. Just before he disappeared out of their sight, Mystique called after him.

"And what will you do when Charles is fully recovered?"

Although they couldn't see his face anymore, they heard Magneto's voice loud and clear.

"We'll see, we'll see."


End file.
